Bologna travel to the Bluenergy Stadium for a Monday night Italian Serie A clash with Udinese. The hosts are going through a difficult spell at the moment and the visitors will fancy their chances of securing a comfortable victory.
It has been all downhill for Udinese in recent weeks as they head into this clash following five straight defeats. They have failed to score in four of those matches and lost 2-0 at Torino in their previous fixture.
While Udinese are not in relegation trouble, that poor run has seen them slip into the bottom half of the table. Kosta Runjaic's men have also lost their last two home matches and were beaten 4-0 by AC Milan in their previous fixture in front of their fans.
Bologna, on the other hand, come into this contest after a 2-1 victory over Empoli helped them secure a 5-1 aggregate and a place in their first Coppa Italia final in 51 years. That result means Vincenzo Italiano’s men are now unbeaten in nine of their last 10 matches in all competitions.
The focus is now back to Serie A as Bologna resume their push for back to back top four finishes, having gone unbeaten in their last eight matches. They have been solid at the back lately, keeping clean sheets in three of their last five league matches and shutting out Inter Milan's attack in the 1-0 victory last time out.
How the bookies view it: Bookies backing Bologna
Bologna are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies and are priced at 4/5 by BoyleSports for a home win. A victory for Udinese is valued at 16/5 with BoyleSports, who are also offering odds of 23/10 for a draw.
Head to head: Udinese on top
Udinese have a 20-14 advantage with 15 draws from 50 previous matches against Bologna. Both teams battled to a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture.
Players to watch: Remarkable Orsolini
Riccardo Orsolini is the top scorer for Bologna with 14 goals and could be the one to watch on Monday. The forward was also on target in the reverse fixture and is priced a 2/1 by BoyleSports to get in the score sheet.
Sam Beukema has played a key role in Bologna’s backline and his contributions has guided them to three clean sheets in their last five league outings. With the centre-back fit and available again, he could help them continue the trend at 6/5 on BoyleSports.
Probable line-ups
Jordan Zemura, Florian Thauvin, Lorenzo Lucca and Souleymane Toure are unavailable for Udinese due to injuries. However, Iker Bravo, Martin Payero and Jesper Karlstrom are all expected to keep their places in the line-up.
Asides Nicolo Casale and Lewis Ferguson, Bologna have a fully fit squad to select from, with Beukema, Jens Odgaard and Orsolini expected to start.
Udinese: Okoye, Kamara, Solet, Bijol, Ehizibue, Ekkelemkamp, Karlstrom, Lovric, Atta, Payero, Bravo
Bologna: Ravaglia, Miranda, Lucumi, Beukema, Holm, Freuler, Aebischer, Dominguez, Odgaard, Ndoye, Orsolini
Anything else catch the eye?
Bologna have earned a win to nil in three of the last five matches and that trend can be backed to continue at 9/5 with BoyleSports. They have also scored first in six of the last eight fixtures across all competitions and can be tipped to grab the opening goal at 8/13 with BoyleSports.
Six of Bologna's last eight Serie A goals have come after the break and Monday's clash can be tipped to produce more second half goals at 11/10 with BoyleSports.
This Serie A match between Udinese and Bologna will be played on and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best Udinese vs Bologna prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
GambleAware