Bologna vs. Napoli: Giornata 5

By: Neil | September 27th, 2008

I hope Napoli fans enjoyed Wednesday’s victory at the San Paolo because we won’t be back there for a while. The team begins a mini road trip Sunday in Bologna, followed by travels to Lisbon and Genova.

Bologna shocked anyone and everyone by defeating AC Milan 2-1 at the San Siro to open the season. Since that game they’ve dropped three straight Serie A contests without scoring a goal. Led by Daniele Arrigoni, the Rossoblu finished 2nd in Serie B last season to earn automatic promotion to Serie A. The club has a rich history, having won seven Serie A championships, and will be looking to solidify their status as a regular Serie A team. In short, they are much bigger than most newly promoted teams.

Bologna’s depth will get a major test this game as they are missing two defenders. Captain Marcello Castellini is injured, and Miguel Britos is suspended following his expulsion in the 3-0 midweek loss to Udinese. Vangelis Moras will likely return from injury to compensate. Midfielder Francesco Valiani is also out injured.

The Rossoblu are led by the attacking duo of former Azzurri player Marco Di Vaio (Euro 2004) and Adailton. The Brazilian won the Golden Shoe at the Under 20 World Cup in 1997, largely due to a 6 goal game against North Korea. Both these strikers are capable of causing problems, and Bologna’s three game goal drought may be explained by poor service from defence and midfield.

Other notable names include former Roma goalie Francesco Antonioli, and former Samp midfielder Sergio Volpi. Both these players have lots of Serie A experience.

Probable lineup: Antonioli – Zenoni, Terzi, Moras, Bombardini – Volpi, Mudingayi, Marchini, Amoroso – Di Vaio, Adailton.

It’s difficult to know whether Reja will rest anyone for Thursday’s game against Benfica. Our back four for Sunday will be Navarro – Santacroce, Cannavaro, Contini. Denis and Zalayeta will start upfront, but midfield is anyone’s guess. Pazienza and Mannini might give our starters a rest. If we get an early lead look for some of our attacking talent to leave early.

Games like these are slippery because they fall in between two bigger and more emotionally charged matches. Napoli should be able to come in to the Dall’Ara, let its superior talent prevail, and not get caught in a physical battle. However, Bologna is not in Europe and has nothing to lose by trying to wear down Napoli and grind out a result. Look for Napoli to attack aggressively from the start to kill the game off as early as possible.

Click here for a goal.com interview with Manuele Blasi:

One more thing needs to be addressed. Does anyone know who take Napoli’s penalites? Domizzi and Calaio are both gone. I remember Zalayeta took one and missed last year, while Hamsik also missed in the preseason. Hamsik seems like the obvious choice, but I’ve never seen any news about it.