Salernitana vs Bologna prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-03-17 17:00.
Serie A (SA) strugglers Salernitana nicked what could prove to be a valuable point at the home of defending champions AC Milan in the last round (1-1). Paulo Sousa’s infamous team talk, which took place on the field immediately after a defeat against Lazio a few weeks ago, seems to have had the desired impact as Salernitana are now unbeaten in three league matches (W1, D2), helping them climb seven points clear of the relegation zone.
Salernitana return home here, where they halted a three-game losing streak by beating Monza 3-0 in their last home outing. All three of their goals came in the second half and helped to end what was a concerning goal drought that had lasted 392 league minutes. Building on that strong attacking performance will be crucial if Salernitana are to beat a current top-half side at home for the first time this season (D1, L5).
A failure to score in back-to-back SA matches for the first time since early October saw Bologna lose ground in their push for a place in the top seven. There was added unrest on the sidelines in the goalless draw against Lazio too, as forward Marko Arnautović angrily threw a water bottle at the bench after being left as a substitute for the second consecutive game.
Manager Thiago Motta might have to try and smooth things over with the Austrian given he holds a record of scoring three of Bologna’s last five H2H goals. Motta will also be desperate to see a return to the sort of attacking performances on the road that had delivered exactly two goals in three straight matches (W3) prior to the recent 1-0 away defeat against Torino.
Players to watch: Boulaye Dia’s second-half equaliser against Milan was his 13th goal contribution this SA season (G9, A4) and his fifth strike beyond the hour mark, including the equaliser in the 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture. With four SA goals, defender Stefan Posch is enjoying his best goalscoring season, with Bologna winning all four league matches he netted in.
Hot stat: Bologna have scored two goals in each of their five away SA matches against teams currently below them, and are unbeaten in each (W4, D1).