Serie A: Napoli’s March Set to Stomp on Bologna

Napoli vs Bologna

I wouldn’t blame a Bologna fan who’s thinking twice about heading south to the Stadio Diego Maradona on Sunday, because it could be a long afternoon against rampant Napoli.

Yes, I know, proper football supporters follow their team through thick and thin – I should know as a Burnley fan. But the fun is in the winning, and if your chances are less than ten per cent then if you brave the 1,150km round trip from Bologna to Naples then hats off to you!  

Serie A leaders Napoli have been in scintillating and ruthless form under Luciano Spalletti and they come into the game on the back of a 4-1 league win away to Cremonese, while Bologna picked up a point in a 1-1 draw at home to Sampdoria. 

I Rossoblu boss Thiago Motta has a rather different challenge to Spalletti as his team sits one place and two points above the drop zone after a run of three games which has yielded just the one point.      

Talking Points

Confident Napoli have their noses in front

The Serie A 2022 betting odds recognise that this is Napoli’s best chance to win the Scudetto for over three decades and here at SBOTOP we have installed the Azzurri as favourites, priced at 2.95, to win a first league title since 1990, with current champions AC Milan at 3.00, Inter Milan at 6.00, Atalanta at 8.00. The big Serie A 2022 news in many ways is the disappearance of Juventus from the reckoning. The Old Lady is priced at 20.00, behind both Roma and Lazio at 13.00 and 19.00 and just ahead of early season upstarts, Udinese.

And after Atalanta drew 2-2 away to Udinese last week, Gli Azzurri have nudged two points ahead at the top of the league, with seven wins and two draws. They have a +15 goal difference and have been even more prolific in the Champions League, with four wins from their first four games and a +13 goal difference. Having battered Ajax 6-1 last week Napoli’s return match with the Dutch on Wednesday turned out to be a closer affair but the Italians still won 4-2.   

This is a team brimming with confidence.  

21 year old striker Khvicha Kvaratshelia has five goals and two assists in the league while experienced winger Matteo Politano scored his third goal of the campaign in Napoli’s win over Cremonese last week. Portuguese wing back Mario Rui has been a threat going forward with three assists so far while, on the other flank, skipper Giovani Di Lorenzo gives the team great balance and leadership. And the return from injury of striker Victor Osimhen will give Napoli and even bigger threat.    

Italy have failed to reach the World Cup finals in Qatar so many of Serie A’s top players are due an enforced break and Di Lorenzo is one star who will have a couple of weeks away from competitive action. But influential midfielder Piotr Zielinski and attacker Hirving Lozano will be on show with Poland and Mexico… after they attempt to help Napoli to stay top of the table as they approach the break.    

Marko is the man for Bologna

With six league goals to his name 33 year old Marko Arnuatovic has the experience and goal scoring skills to fire Bologna to safety. He’s scored 20 goals in 42 appearances for the Rossoblu, the last coming in a 2-1 win over Fiorentina, and he has a proven track record across Europe, including in Germany and England. The former Stoke City and West Ham United striker was considered as a prospect by Manchester United this summer, and reports have emerged this week that he actually turned the Red Devils down, having been persuaded by director of football, Marco Di Vaio, that he was the central part of Bologna’s project.    

In the middle of the park, experienced Chilean midfielder Gary Medel is a formidable opponent. Now 35 years of age he’s seen it all, as a Copa America winner with Chile and a big player with Sevilla in La Liga and Inter Milan in Serie A. Nicknamed Pitbull, the hard tackling Medel will be happy if he can turn this match into a scrap.     

Bologna lost this fixture 3-0 last season as Lorenzo Insigne scored a brace of penalties (one of them conceded by Medel)  and the Rossoblu can’t afford to be so generous this time around. 

History

Napoli have won 20 of the last 37 encounters with Bologna, losing 11 and drawing six; but while the head to heads have been reasonably well contested there is a gulf between the two in terms of recent form. 

Bologna have just one win from the last six while Napoli won all six.

And there is a beautiful symmetry, for Napoli fans anyway, in the fact that the Azzurri have won three and drawn one at home in the league, while Bologna have drawn one and lost three.

So what’s it going to be…another Napoli win (and another Bologna defeat) or a draw?

Betting Tip

Well, as you see I’m discounting Bologna at 10.12 for a start and a draw at 5.03 seems unlikely to me. With Napoli at 1.27 I’m looking for value and I expect them to win by two clear goals. Bologna have two experienced and quality campaigners, but I think they will need more than that to stop the Azzurri. 

 

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