Italian Serie A: Bologna V Lazio

International Football Tips

 

Bologna V Lazio

Kick-off: Sunday, 23rd January – 14:00 (GMT)
Competition: Italian Serie A

There may be some eleven positions in the Serie A table between them but on Sunday, when the two square-up to one another in the middle of the afternoon, we doubt there will be an awful lot to separate the pair as relegation scrapper’s Bologna do battle with Scudetto hopefuls Lazio inside Stadio Renato Dall’Ara.

Alberto Malesani knew it was going to be a long old slog this season down near the foot of the table, and he was correct. Bologna have spent pretty much the entirety of the campaign hovering precariously above the bottom three though have done their utmost to avoid slipping into the dreaded drop zone, where even the shortest of spell can drain so much confidence from a team. Much of that goes down to two factors; their tremendous record at home (W4 D4 L1) and Marco Di Vaio’s goals, the former Juventus striker accounting for 11 of the team’s 20 Serie A goals this season.

The Renato Dell’Ara can house up to 38,000 though Sunday’s attendance isn’t expected to get anywhere near that figure. The Rossoblu (Red & Blues) are averaging less than 20,000 per home game in Serie A this season, but with the team struggling to stay afloat down in 15th, now more than ever do Malesani’s charges need the support of their faithful, especially on Sunday, when they entertain surprise-package Lazio.

Speaking of the Biancocelesti, Lazio could do with their fair share of encouragement as well. Edy Reja’s side have seen their hopes of a surprise Scudetto success diminish rather quickly thanks to a number of poor runs.

No team in the country could keep up with them in the early part of the campaign, Lazio the quickest out of the blocks and the early pacesetters courtesy of an almost infallible start. Seven wins from their opening games of the season saw the Rome outfit put some healthy distance between them and their nearest rivals, though few actually put money on them to maintain their early relentless pace for the whole season, and the punters were right on this occasion.

Since about November, when Reja saw his team suffer back-to-back defeats for the very first time this season, Lazio have been a completely different team. The talent is still there, as is that explosive, big performance they have somewhere in their locker – wins over Napoli (2-0), Inter Milan (3-1) and Udinese (3-2) is evidence of this. The consistency, however, has somehow vanished. The last time they strung a pair of wins together was during that famous winning run of theirs in the early part of the season. I’m afraid decent performances have come in spurts ever since.

The fact Bologna have only strung together one set of back-to-back victories this season isn’t a great surprise, though I for one did not foresee them putting up the sort of stern resistance they have this season, particularly back at home. Only league leaders AC Milan have left Bologna with maximum points thus far, which speaks volumes when it comes to identifying exactly what is required in order to overhaul a team with a clear preference for playing on home soil, which in this instance is a team with the ability to clinch the Serie A outright and a world-class player like Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Just to lament how strong the Rossoblu are at home, the likes of Inter Milan, Udinese, Sampdoria, Juventus and Fiorentina have left the Renato Dall’Ara without the three points they were gunning for, and although we still await the first real scalp from Bologna this season – a 2-1 victory over Udinese back in September isn’t included considering the visitors were in terrible shape then compared to now, you do get the feeling that if they continue to consistently resist the big guns at home, then a sizeable scalp shouldn’t be too far away.

That scalp could very well arrive on Sunday. Lazio appear as though they’re flying high what with their elavated position in the table, however the Biancocelesti arrive in Bologna in a worrying state. Not only were Edy Reja’s team dumped out of the Coppa Italia during the week, exit that bit harder to take and that touch more painful because the defeat was inflicted by their arch-rivals Roma, whom detest one another. It’s a defeat which will have definitely hurt and will probably even leave a few lasting scars, which will play right into the hands of the Rossoblu.

I won’t lead you down the garden path as Bologna were also eliminated from the same competition in midweek, Napoli doing the damage with a goal right at the death. Still, it was an encouraging display from Alberto Malesani’s men, to compete for the best part of the game with a team currently challenging for the Scudetto. It was a tremendous response to their 4-1 spanking at the San Siro last weekend as well, Bologna showing some real character to put an emphatic defeat behind them when Inter Milan ran riot in Milan a week ago. But it would appear Bologna were quick to drown their sorrows and now they are in prime position to capitalise on Lazio’s fragile state of mind.

 

Betting Tip: Bologna to WIN @ 3.13 VictorChandler

Bologna displayed an abundance of character and strength of mind to overcome their recent humbling away to Inter when pushing Napoli all the way during their midweek Coppa Italia battle. Meanwhile Lazio appear to be wallowing in self-pity still, as they have been for weeks now. Their form has been shaky, extremely inconsistent, and the fact they’ve gone over two months without putting two wins together only decreases their value following last weekend’s late show at home to Sampdoria, where Lazio scored in the 85th minute to seal their first win of the year (1-0). We still await their first away win since October, however.

Resilient but boasting a touch of class and panache up front, Bologna definitely have the potential to spring the surprise result of the weekend provided Marco Di Vaio doesn’t let me down like he did last time. Bologna’s only home loss of the entire campaign occurred when I last backed them, and when I backed the Italian to locate the back of the net as well at tasty odds. Di Vaio would later miss a spot-kick with the score at 1-0 to AC Milan – the rest is history.

It’s a Bologna win for me although I wouldn’t discourage anyone from having a punt on this affair ending in a draw, between two teams stuck in a little bit of a slump, to play out an unfilled draw.

 

Other Selections:

Bologna DrawNoBet @ 2.10 WilliamHill

Marco Di Vaio to Score @ 3.00 Boylesports

 

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Bologna

Last 5 Matches

Coppa Italia: Napoli 2-1 Bologna
Serie A: Inter Milan 4-1 Bologna
Serie A: Bari 0-2 Bologna
Serie A: Bologna 1-1 Fiorentina
Serie A: Parma 0-0 Bologna

Last 5 Matches at Home (Serie A ONLY)

Bologna 1-1 Fiorentina
Bologna 0-3 AC Milan
Bologna 2-1 Chievo Verona
Bologna 1-0 Brescia
Bologna 2-0 Lecce

2010/2011 Seria A Statistics

League Position: 16th
Win-Draw-Lose: 6-7-7 (Home: 4-4-1)
Goal Difference: 20-28 (Home: 9-7)
Top Scorer: Marco Di Vaio (11)

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Lazio

Last 5 Matches

Coppa Italia: AS Roma 2-1 Lazio
Serie A: Lazio 1-0 Sampdoria
Serie A: Lazio 1-2 Lecce
Serie A: Genoa 0-0 Lazio
Serie A: Lazio 3-2 Udinese

Last 5 Away Matches

Genoa 0-0 Lazio
Juventus 2-1 Lazio
Parma 1-1 Lazio
Cesena 1-0 Lazio
Palmero 0-1 Lazio

2010/2011 Serie A Statistics

League Position: 3rd
Win-Draw-Lose: 11-4-5 (Away: 4-2-3)
Goal Difference: 26-18 (Away: 8-7)
Top Scorer: Hernanes & Sergio Floccari (5)

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Pointers

Bologna

– The likes of Palermo, Napoli, AC Milan and even their match day rivals Lazio have all lost more games at home in the Serie A this season than Bologna, although their overall points accumulation at home (16) is rated only as the 14th best.

– Only Parma and Sampdoria have conceded fewer goals on their own patch than the Rossoblu’s tally of 7, which is better than the two Milanese outfits.

– Marco Di Vaio has scored in four of his last five starts at the Renato Dall’Ara, the Italian scoring a little over half of his team’s goals in Serie A this season (11).

– A 2-0 win at Bari a fortnight ago remains Bologna’s only league win in a month, a period of five games – W1 D2 L2.

– Alberto Malesani’s team were knocked out of the Coppa Italia by Napoli in midweek (2-1), a match in which Di Vaio was rested.

Lazio

– Haven’t won any of their last four away matches in the league, drawing with Parma and Genoa but losing to Cesena and Juventus, though Aquile still boast the fourth best away record in the league: W4 D2 L3.

– Edy Reja last saw his side surpass one goal in an away encounter on 17th October, Lazio going their last five away games without scoring more than one goal.

– Eight goals from nine away league games is the worst away offensive record out of those currently challenging for the title/European places (1st-10th).