High-flying Bologna will look to recover from a setback last weekend when they welcome Genoa to the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara in Serie A on Friday.
Thiago Motta's side suffered their first convincing defeat of the season at the hands of Udinese to concede a spot in the top four in their final game of 2023.
Match preview
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In a tightly-packed top nine, including all of Italy's heavyweights, Bologna have been the surprise package that have gatecrashed the battle for the Champions League places so far.
Those hopes took a huge blow on Sunday, though, when Bologna were thrashed 3-0 away to a struggling Udinese side.
That was just the Rossoblu's second defeat since the opening day of the season, and paired with Fiorentina's win over Torino, it saw them slip to fifth.
With just six points separating fourth from ninth though, the European places are set to change on a weekly basis in the coming matchdays, with nobody in that pack showing great consistency.
Bologna's form here at the Dall'Ara has been pivotal, though, as they are unbeaten in their last nine home games - winning eight - as only Juventus have taken more points on home soil in Serie A this season.
This represents the start of a big week for Bologna too, as their Coppa Italia quarter-final versus Fiorentina will quickly be upon them next Tuesday.
A historic 2-1 win at San Siro shortly before Christmas saw Bologna dump the winners of the last two editions of the Coppa, Inter Milan, out of the competition to set up this clash with La Viola.
Genoa represent their first challenge though, and they have been awkward visitors to the Dall'Ara of late, as Bologna have failed to win any of the last four here, including 2-0 and 3-0 defeats in that run.
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Alberto Gilardino's side are in fine form themselves, despite a daunting set of fixtures recently which pitted them against the runaway top two.
However, Genoa were not overawed, coming from behind to claim a draw against both, with a fine 2-1 win at Sassuolo sandwiched in between.
Halting both in their title challenges was also a big positive for Genoa, as it has provided them with some breathing room from the bottom three.
It was also vitally important to get a win away from home in Reggio Emilia, as they had lost six of their first eight league games on the road this season - taking just four points.
Serie A's other Rossoblu now find themselves six points clear of the drop, and remain the highest-performing newly-promoted side so far this campaign.
That has been built on defensive stability, as Genoa have not conceded more than two goals in a game since the opening day of the season.
Team News
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Bologna will be without one of their star performers of the season so far for this one, as Lewis Ferguson's booking against Udinese was his fifth of the season, triggering a suspension.
Elsewhere on the absentee list are Dan Ndoye, Jesper Karlsson and Adama Soumaoro, who are all out injured.
Riccardo Calafiori has been a key player for Bologna this season, and the left-sided defender received high praise from Italy boss Luciano Spalletti this week, claiming he is in his thoughts ahead of the European Championships in the summer.
Given the injuries that have mounted up in the Bologna defence, Calafiori has slotted in as a left centre-back with great professionalism in recent weeks, and could do so again here.
Genoa were able to call upon a fully fit squad for their clash with Inter to see out 2023.
Both Mateo Retegui and Junior Messias returned from minor setbacks to be a part of the squad, but they were only substitutes behind the in-form duo of Caleb Ekuban and Albert Gudmundsson.
Another man making headlines is Radu Dragusin, as transfer speculation intensifies over a move to the Premier League.
The Romanian scored the equaliser against Inter, and despite a possible impending move, he should start in the centre of defence here.
Bologna possible starting lineup:
Skorupski; Posch, Beukema, Calafiori, Kristiansen; Freuler, Moro, Aebischer; Orsolini, Zirkzee, Saelemaekers
Genoa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; De Winter, Dragusin, Bani; Sabelli, Frendrup, Strootman, Vasquez; Malinovskyi, Gudmundsson, Retegui
We say: Bologna 1-0 Genoa
Based purely on form this season, there can be only one winner, as Bologna are unbeaten in nine at home - winning eight - and Genoa have lost six out of nine on the road.
However, it will be interesting to see whether Bologna can respond to a bruising defeat last weekend, while Genoa will be riding high after three very impressive results to see out 2023.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
