Bologna vs Napoli prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-09-23 16:00.
Bologna registered a goalless draw against Verona in their last Serie A (SA) outing, a result that drew a “very happy” assessment from head coach Thiago Motta, who feels there is “great quality” in his group. The Rossoblù defence has particularly been tough to breach this season, with only two SA teams conceding fewer goals than their four after as many games., and they will need this quality in abundance at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara on Sunday against Napoli, having conceded in ten straight SA home H2Hs.
Recent results at this venue suggest Bologna could be a hard nut to crack, having avoided defeat in eight of their last nine SA home games (W3, D5), and that run included a 2-2 draw against Napoli, where the hosts came back from 2-0 down with less than half an hour left to play.
Napoli survived a late scare during their midweek Champions League match against Braga, conceding beyond the 80th minute in a 2-1 win. Manager Rudi Garcia admitted he’s “happy with the result”, albeit lamenting his side’s inability to kill the contest. Facing Bologna may help ease those nerves as the Partenopei average 1.5 goals per game in top-flight H2Hs, their highest average against any SA team.
Results are of immense importance now as Napoli have already fallen five points behind the league leaders after four matches. Although Garcia already played down his side’s tag as favourites for the title earlier in the season, the visitors can’t afford a loss that would set them further back. They would need to buck the trend too, having won just once across their last five SA road trips (D3, L1) although they won eight consecutive games prior.
Players to watch: Joshua Zirkzee scored Bologna’s opener against Napoli last season, albeit away from home. This season, his two competitive goals have come at this venue, both being the second strike of the match. Victor Osimhen turned provider for Napoli’s opener during midweek but is likely to pick up his scoring duties here, having netted five goals in six SA H2Hs.
Hot stat: Napoli have conceded the match opener in three of their four SA games in this campaign, already a third of what they did throughout the entirety of last season.