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After securing a victory in the UEFA Champions League against SC Braga on Matchday 1, Napoli is now focused on rejuvenating their Serie A title defense as they gear up to face Bologna at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara on Sunday night.
Following Luciano Spalletti's successful title-winning campaign last season, Rudi Garcia took on the challenging role of managing Gli Azzurri. However, Napoli finds themselves currently five points adrift from the top of the Serie A table and hasn't quite hit their stride yet. It's safe to say that there is already significant scrutiny surrounding the new Napoli boss.
Their previous Serie A encounter saw them fall behind 2-0 to Genoa before staging a late comeback to salvage a point. Napoli has only managed to secure a single point from their two league matches since the international break, putting the brakes on their title defense.
Their upcoming visit to Bologna promises to be a formidable challenge, possibly more challenging than in the past, and it could test Napoli's ability to find their top form. Bologna, known as La Rossa, has accumulated just five points from their first four games and could potentially leapfrog Napoli in the standings with a victory.
While Napoli enters the match as favorites, they are not without vulnerabilities. Bologna is fully capable of springing surprises of their own and has their sights set on securing consecutive home wins in Serie A, a feat they haven't achieved in 2023. In this context, we will analyze how both teams could line up on Sunday and the tactical strategies they might employ.
Thiago Motta's Bologna side recently played out a goalless draw against Hellas Verona and has only managed one win in their first four Serie A games. Despite the expected challenges, La Rossa aims to catch Napoli off guard, taking advantage of Napoli's current struggles to climb the league standings.
However, Bologna will have to face Napoli without key players such as AC Milan loanee Alexis Saelemaekers, who remains sidelined, and Adama Soumaoro, who isn't expected to return until the beginning of 2024. While Saelemaekers might make it to the bench if he passes a late fitness test, he is unlikely to start.
The expected formation for Bologna is a 4-2-3-1, with Lukasz Skorupski guarding the goal. The defensive line will consist of Stefan Posch, Sam Beukema, Jhon Lucumi, and Victor Kristiansen. Michel Aebischer and Remo Freuler will anchor the midfield, providing freedom for the trio of Jesper Karlsson, Lewis Ferguson, and Dan Ndoye to push forward and create opportunities for Joshua Zirkzee, who will spearhead the attack.
Napoli, the current Scudetto holders, has yet to find their top form and seems to be lacking the attacking prowess displayed in the previous season. Although the recent win against Braga offered some respite, it didn't overshadow an overall unconvincing performance. A stronger opponent could certainly capitalize on Napoli's vulnerabilities, leaving them with a substantial gap to close in their title defense.
Inter Milan is emerging as the team to beat this season, boasting a perfect record so far. Unless Napoli can quickly regain their form, Inter's lead could become insurmountable, making the title defense a challenging endeavor.
Rudi Garcia is expected to have access to most of his squad, with the exception of Amir Rrahmani, who sustained an injury in the previous victory against Braga. Given the tight fixture schedule, Garcia might consider including Matteo Politano and Giacomo Raspadori in the starting lineup.
With Alex Meret in goal, Garcia is expected to stick with his 4-3-3 formation. Leo Ostigard, Juan Jesus, and Mario Rui should all continue to play alongside Giovanni Di Lorenzo on the backline, who scored during the last game.
Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Piotr Zielinski should advance the ball while Stanislav Lobotka should control the middle midfield. Matteo Politano should be replaced by Giacomo Raspadori, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen should continue to play up front.
Napoli nearly dropped two points in their first Champions League game since being eliminated in the quarterfinals of the previous season, despite creating considerably more clear-cut opportunities on Wednesday night at Braga's "quarry."
The Italian champions took the lead through captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo in first-half stoppage time after Victor Osimhen was stopped by both the goalie and the goal frame. However, their hosts tied the game in the 84th minute, and it took a late own goal to salvage a crucial Group C victory.
Nevertheless, after a couple of recent Serie A defeats, victory relieves some of the strain on coach Rudi Garcia, who hasn't exactly been a well-liked choice to replace Scudetto winner Luciano Spalletti.
The fortunate escape last week in Genoa, when goals from Matteo Politano and Giacomo Raspadori were necessary in the final 20 minutes to preserve a point against freshly promoted opponents, came after a 2-1 home loss to Lazio just before the international break.
Due to these difficulties, Napoli has trailed for 101 minutes during the first four matchdays as opposed to just 84 minutes during the first half of their successful 2022–23 season.
The Azzurri will be eager to avoid such a destiny on Sunday night as they already sit five points behind early leaders Inter in the Serie A rankings. That sequence of three games without a league victory hadn't happened since April 2022.
Bologna managed to hold Napoli to a 2-2 draw in the clubs' most recent meeting at Dall'Ara, which occurred on the penultimate day of the previous season. Bologna is now only two points behind the defending champions, with a record of five points from four games.
The odds are not in their favor this weekend because they have recently only won one of seven league home games against their Campanian opponents - and none since May 2019.
Prior to the start of international football, Thiago Motta's team defeated promoted Cagliari, despite earning only one point from their opening two games against Milan and Juventus.
Bologna returned from the break on Monday night with a lackluster draw away to Hellas Verona, despite controlling the ball for the majority of the game.
The Rossoblu, who are now back on Emilian soil, have gone unbeaten in eight of their past nine league games played at home, thus prolonging Napoli's domestic struggles might not be beyond them.
Amir Rrahmani's withdrawal from the victory over Braga due to a muscular injury forces Rudi Garcia to make at least one change to Napoli's lineup on Sunday; Leo Ostigard might thus partner Juan Jesus at the back, or Natan could make his debut.
Star striker Victor Osimhen is still scheduled to play up front, although Giacomo Raspadori, Jesper Lindstrom, and Eljif Elmas are also vying for a spot in the starting eleven. Matteo Politano's position on the right wing is also in jeopardy.
However, last season's Capocannoniere has now gone goalless in his past three games in all competitions - something of a slump by his own high standards. Osimhen has scored five goals in six previous Serie A matches with Bologna.
