Napoli winger Dries Mertens. (Photo : Getty Images)
Lowly squad Bologna FC (7-8-6, 27 points) will take on the challenge of powerhouse club SSC Napoli (13-3-6, 45 points) at the Renato Dall'Ara Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 4 as the 2016-2017 Serie A season continues.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 2:45 p.m. ET. It can be viewed live online thru FuboTV.
Bologna is somewhat rising as of late with five unbeaten performances in their last six outings. The team is now in the 13th spot of the league table, tied on points with Sampdoria and Cagliari but has a goal differential in between the said two teams. They are 14 points above the bottom three relegation zone at the moment.
A nine-man I Rossoblu squad is coming off a 1-1 draw with newly-promoted side Cagliari on the road at the Sant'Elia Stadium last Sunday, as per Sporting Life.
After a goalless first half of play, Bologna striker Mattia Destro broke the game's deadlock in the 64th minute before two players of head coach Roberto Donadoni's side was sent off in the 88th and 90th+1 minutes, namely Federico Viviani and Emil Krafth.
It gave the Islanders the opportunity to equalize in stoppage time as Cagliari forward Marco Borriello netted the equalizer one minute later.
Meanwhile, Napoli snapped a three-game winning run after they were also held to a 1-1 tie by bottom three team Palermo at their own home field of San Paolo Stadium also last Sunday, Daily Mail Online reported.
Palermo forward Ilija Nestorovski scored the first goal early in the sixth minute, giving the visitors a 1-0 advantage at the break.
However, head coach Maurizio Sarri's squad was able to level the count in the 66th with a right-footed shot by Dries Mertens off an assist by Piotr Zielinski to salvage the draw and a share of a point in the standings.
Napoli remained in the third spot of the league table despite the draw. They are now two points behind second-running team Roma and six points below defending champions and current league leaders Juventus.
Prediction and Predicted Lineup
The predicted result is a 2-0 romp by Napoli.
Bologna starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Mirante; Mbaye, Oikonomou, Maietta, Masina; Zapata, Pulgar, Nagy; Di Francesco, Destro, Krejci
Napoli starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Reina; Soderlund, Maksimovic, Albiol, Ghoulam; Allan, Jorginho, Hamsik; Callejon, Mertens, Insigne
