Rock-bottom Salernitana seek just their second Serie A win of the season on Sunday evening, as they host a Bologna side aiming to crack the top six.
The teams convene at Stadio Arechi with the hosts having lost again last weekend, while their Emilian visitors are still riding high in the standings despite letting two points slip in Lecce.
Match preview
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Having finally posted a first top-flight win of the season - at home to Lazio, in their final fixture of November - Salernitana were brought crashing back down to earth last Sunday, when they were no match for Fiorentina.
Two goals down within 17 minutes at Stadio Artemio Franchi, the Granata ultimately lost 3-0 while managing only a single shot on target; as a result, they remain rooted to the foot of the table with a meagre tally of eight points.
Stretching back to last season, the Campanian club have now lost nine of their last 15 Serie A matches, after having recorded only one defeat in the previous 14, when former boss Paulo Sousa's reign started with great promise.
The wheels came off early this term, though, and Sousa was sacked to make way for current incumbent Pippo Inzaghi. The latter has failed to make a major impact since arriving at the Arechi, and defensive issues remain unresolved.
Salernitana's last clean sheet in the league dates back to mid-May - some 17 games ago - and they have also conceded the second-most goals during the second half of Serie A matches this season. None of which bodes well for Inzaghi as he prepares to meet one of his former clubs.
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Bologna had mostly trodden water since Inzaghi's departure back in 2019, but the man now in charge at Stadio Dall'Ara has shown signs of taking them back into Europe after more than two decades away.
A stunning free-kick from set-piece specialist Charalampos Lykogiannis almost earned the Rossoblu three more points last weekend, but even conceding a 100th-minute equaliser to Lecce down at Via del Mare left Thiago Motta's men safely inside the top half of the table.
Although the former Italy midfielder was frustrated by such a late slip, his side have still lost only eight of 37 Serie A matches played in 2023 - no team have been beaten fewer times throughout this calendar year.
As a marker of their progress, with a win this weekend, Bologna would post as many as 25 points from their first 15 matches for the first time since 2002.
However, they will have to write a fresh page in history if they are to topple Salernitana: the Emilians have never won a top-flight fixture at Stadio Arechi in four previous attempts, conceding an average of 2.3 goals per game.
Team News
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Although first-choice goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa will again be absent due to a shoulder injury, with French veteran Benoit Costil therefore deputising as Salernitana's last line of defence, Pippo Inzaghi should otherwise have a full squad to choose from on Sunday.
Last term's top scorer Boulaye Dia is leading the Granata's goal charts again this season, and the Senegal striker - who found the net in both matches against Bologna in 2022-23 - is set to start up front.
The visitors, meanwhile, are burdened by a much longer injury list, and players including Riccardo Orsolini, Lorenzo De Silvestri, Adama Soumaoro and Swedish winger Jesper Karlsson are all unavailable this weekend.
Doubts remain about Kevin Bonifazi's fitness following a back injury, so Thiago Motta may name an unchanged back four; however, Charalampos Lykogiannis is in contention for a place at left-back.
Sydney van Hooijdonk started as Bologna's central striker in Lecce, but Joshua Zirkzee should now replace his fellow Dutchman after being restricted to a cameo appearance last week.
Salernitana possible starting lineup:
Costil; Daniliuc, Fazio, Pirola; Mazzocchi, Coulibaly, Bohinen, Bradaric; Candreva, Kastanos; Dia
Bologna possible starting lineup:
Skorupski; Posch, Lucumi, Calafiori, Lykogiannis; Freuler, Aebischer; Ndoye, Ferguson, Saelemaekers; Zirkzee
We say: Salernitana 1-1 Bologna
All three of Salernitana's wins in league and cup this season have come at Stadio Arechi, while Bologna are yet to taste success on the road. Despite the disparity between them in the table, a fourth straight draw in this fixture could therefore be on the cards.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
