Serie A Preview: Bologna vs Napoli – Team News, Line-ups & Prediction | OneFootball

Stadio Renato Dall’Ara is the venue as Napoli and Bologna go head-to-head in Serie A’s top-six six-pointer on Sunday. With the international break around the corner, victory is imperative for the home side after several underwhelming performances. 

Fatigue could be catching up with Bologna following a scoreless draw against Norwegian outfit Brann in midweek Europa League action. Vincenzo Italiano’s side showed resilience and fighting spirit to avoid defeat despite losing Charalampos Lykogiannis to a 23rd-minute red card.

It was Bologna’s second goalless stalemate in three matches, with the lone exception coming at Parma last weekend. Indeed, the Rossoblu overturned a first-minute deficit to beat the Crusaders 3-1 and climb to fifth in the table, only three points adrift of fourth-placed Roma.

Visiting Napoli remain at the top of the three, boasting a slender one-point lead over closest followers Inter and Milan. However, the reigning champions’ form doesn’t inspire much confidence. Indeed, the visitors have delivered a mixed bag of performances across their last six competitive outings (W2, D2, L2).

Napoli threw their hopes of securing a place in the Champions League knockout stages into further doubt with a disheartening 0-0 home draw against Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday. The same scoreline saw the Partenopei get away with a point against Como last Saturday, with Alvaro Morata squandering a first-half penalty for Cesc Fabregas’ side.

Match Preview

Bologna

Despite sharing the spoils in three of their last four Serie A fixtures (W1), Bologna have enjoyed their joint-best ten-game start to a top-flight season since the 2002/23 campaign. Indeed, Italiano’s charges have accumulated 18 points so far this term, largely thanks to their indomitable home record.

Renato Dall’Ara has become a fortress again, with the Rossoblu winning three of their four home league games in 2025/26, except for a tepid 0-0 draw against Torino last time out. Furthermore, Bologna’s defense has been nearly impregnable, conceding just one goal in those four matches, which stands in stark contrast to the seven they shipped on the road.

It’s equally important to note that Bologna have yet to trail at halftime in Serie A this season (HT: W3, D7). Another such start would significantly increase their hopes of avoiding defeat against Napoli for the fifth time in their last six meetings (W1, D3, L1) and head into the international break in high spirits.

Napoli

With four teams separated by a single point before this round, Napoli cannot afford more slip-ups if they are to enter the break as the pacesetters. However, that could prove easier said than done at Dall’Ara, where they’ve drawn their last three league clashes against Bologna after previously beating them twice in a row.

Napoli’s recent struggles in Emilia-Romagna are the least of Conte’s problems heading into this high-stakes encounter. Before squeezing past relegation-threatened Lecce on their last Serie A road trip, Napoli had lost four consecutive away matches in all competitions, conceding multiple goals on three occasions.

Furthermore, the visitors have already lost as many away league games this season (2) as they did in the entire 2024/25 campaign. Yet, Napoli’s second-half performances can encourage Conte, with his side remaining the only Serie A team yet to lose a second half this season (W6, D4).

Team News

Bologna faced Brann without their talismanic winger Riccardo Orsolini, who will be at Italiano’s disposal tomorrow. However, question marks are still hovering over the heads of Jens Odgaard and Juan Miranda. Meanwhile, Kevin Bonifazi (coach’s decision) and Remo Freuler (injury) remain on the sidelines.

As for Napoli, first-choice goalkeeper Alex Meret and Belgian star duo Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku are unavailable for selection. Rasmus Hojlund will, therefore, lead the line in Lukaku’s absence, with David Neres expected to retain his starting berth at the expense of Noa Lang.

Bologna vs Napoli Potential Starting Line-ups

Bologna (4-2-3-1): Skorupski; Holm, Lucumi, Heggem, Miranda; Ferguson, Moro; Orsolini, Odgaard, Cambiaghi; Castro.

Napoli (4-3-3): Milinkovic-Savic; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Buongiorno, Olivera; Anguissa, Lobotka, McTominay; Politano, Hojlund, Neres.

Bologna vs Napoli Prediction

Napoli were lucky not to lose to Como last week, but another similar performance may not go unpunished this time. Bologna’s formidable track record at Dall’Ara puts them in the driver’s seat to capitalize on their visitors’ disjointed form as they chase their first home win over Napoli since May 2019.