Napoli will look to keep their place at the top of the Serie A table when they welcome Bologna to Naples this Sunday.
Venue: Stadio Diego Armando Maradona (Naples)
Key Statistics
Napoli have won their last nine games in all competitions.
They are unbeaten in their last 17 games (W15, D2).
The hosts have scored 19 goals in their last five games.
They have won their last five league games.
They have scored an average of 2.44 scored goals per game this season.
But they have kept just one clean sheet in their last six league games.
Bologna have conceded at least two goals on each road trip so far (D1, L3).
They have won just one of their last nine league games (D4, L4).
The visitors have squandered 11 points from leading positions in SA this season (W1, D4, L1).
Head to head
Napoli are unbeaten in their last five league games against Bologna, winning four (D1) and keeping three clean sheets.
Latest performances in all competitions
Napoli: W-W-W-W-W
Bologna: D-L-L-W-D
Napoli
Napoli continued their hot form this season on Wednesday when they beat Ajax 4-2 in the UEFA Champions League.
The record-breaking hosts made it 16 goals in the UCL this season with another tasty attacking display in Europe to seal their place in the knockout stages with two matches to spare for the first time in their history.
That result formed part of a club-record nine-game winning streak which is the longest victorious run Napoli have ever put together in a single campaign. Luciano Spalletti’s side are arguably the best side in Europe this season and come into this tie without a loss in their last 17 games (W15, D2).
The high-flying hosts are now red-hot favourites to extend a five-game winning league run here and keep their place at the top of the Serie A table where they lead by two points.
Manager Spalletti insists he wants his side “to keep improving,” a prospect that will be scary for the rest of the league given that Napoli have averaged 2.44 goals per game this season. The Parthenopeans attack is the best in Serie A this season having plundered 22 goals already.
However, they can certainly tighten up defensively having kept just one clean sheet across their last six Serie A games. The visit of Bologna perhaps comes at an ideal time then as the hosts have won each of their last four Serie A head-to-head, three of those with accompanying clean sheets.
Possible Napoli starting line-up
Alex Meret; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Amir Rrahmani, Kim Min-Jae, Mario Rui; Andre Zambo Anguissa, Stanislav Lobotka, Piotr Zielinski; Hirving Lozano, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Giacomo Raspadori.
Injured: Victor Osimhen
Doubtful: Gianluca Gaetano
Suspended: None
Bologna
Travelling to Naples at this time is not what Thiago Motta and his Bologna could have wished for given their precarious form.
The visitors come into this tie on the back of a 1-1 draw with Sampdoria. The result extended their winless run to three games, with the previous two before that draw with Sampdoria ending in losses.
They will travel to Naples looking to get their second win of the season (D4, L4), and take themselves off the lower echelons of the table where they are currently positioned.
This fixture has a measure of significance for Motta as sides he has managed have kept clean sheets across his last two visits here (W1, D1), although emulating that feat against this free-scoring Napoli side may be a tough ask.
Securing a shut-out looks like an even bigger challenge when considering Bologna’s away league record this season. The visitors have conceded at least two goals on each road trip so far (D1, L3).
Possible Bologna starting line-up
Lukasz Skorupski; Andrea Cambiaso, Jhon Lucumi, Lorenzo De Silvestri, Stefan Posch; Gary Medel, Jerdy Schouten; Michel Aebischer, Nicolas Dominguez, Roberto Soriano; Riccardo Orsolini.
Injured: Adama Soumaoro, Marko Arnautovic, C. Lykogiannis
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Prediction
Napoli 4-0 Bologna
