Thiago Motta takes charge for his first game in Rossoblu for these Bologna vs. Empoli predictions. I Veltri are unbeaten in their last three games and come up against an Empoli side that saw their own unbeaten run come to an end on Monday evening.
Bologna vs. Empoli odds
1 – Bologna to win – 17/14
2 – Both teams to score – 13/17
3 – Under 3.5 goals scored – 4/11
4 – Match to end 2-1 – 15/2
5 – Marko Arnautovic to score first – 9/2
Bologna welcome Empoli to the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara on Sunday hoping the new manager bounce will secure their first consecutive win of the season. Thiago Motta starts his job with the Rossoblu in 12th place in the table, already one higher than they finished last season and may well have a job on his hands to impress the ownership.
For Empoli manager Paulo Zanetti the task may simply to be to keep Empoli clear of relegation with the Azzurri currently sitting just two points clear of the drop zone. Zanetti’s side have yet to register a win this season although a recent run of four consecutive draws has ensured they remain in 16th place.
Despite their difficulties in putting points on the board Empoli looked impressive in Monday night’s narrow defeat to Roma at the Stadio Carlo Castellani. The hosts fought back impressively having fallen behind and will consider themselves unlucky not to have converted more of their 20 shots.
Unfortunately, good performances do not always equate to positive results, and as Empoli have failed to win 13 of their last 14 away matches, we back Bologna to secure all three points on Sunday afternoon.
I Veltri secured their first win of the season last weekend and will be full of confidence. However, Thiago Motta will be looking to solve a clear defensive issue under his predecessors which has seen Bologna fail to secure a clean sheet this campaign. As a result, a punt on both team to score at the Stadio Renato Dell’Ara could well pay off.
Neither side has had particularly good form in front of goal, with just one game in each sides’ previous fixture list witnessing more than three goals. Empoli might have conceded two in each of their last two games but we back there being under 3.5 goals in this weekend’s fixture. More specifically a bet on the match to finish 2-1 offers impressive odds.
Bologna have been heavily reliant on one man for their goalscoring exploits, with Marko Arnautovic currently leading the Serie A capocannoniere race. In fact, up until last week the Austrian was the only player to score for his side this season and is an obvious choice for first goalscorer on Sunday.
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Bologna vs. Empoli last five matches
Bologna last five matches
Empoli last five matches
Bologna top goalscorers
| Player | Goal |
|---|---|
| 8 | |
| 7 | |
| 7 | |
| 6 | |
| 4 |
Empoli top goalscorers
| Player | Goal |
|---|---|
| 6 | |
| 4 | |
| 3 | |
| 2 | |
| 2 |
Bologna vs. Empoli line-ups
Bologna (3-5-2) Skorupski; Posch, Medel, Lucumi; Kasius, Aebischer, Soriano, Schouten, Cambiaso; Barrow, Arnautovic
Empoli (4-3-1-2) Vicario; Stojanovic, Ismajli, Luperto, Parisi; Haas, Grassi, Bandinelli; Pjaca; Lammers, Satriano
Bologna team news
Nicola Sansone could return from injury to return to the Bolgona bench this weekend although Thiago Motta is unlikely to make many changes for his first game in charge. Nicolas Dominguez remains side-lined with a hamstring problem meaning that Michel Aebischer will retain his position in midfield whilst Musa Barrow will partner Marko Arnautovic up front.
Empoli team news
Paulo Zanetti is unlikely to rotate for Sunday’s game given injuries to key players including Mattia Destro, Tomasso Baldanzi, Nicolo Cambiaghi and Lorenzo Tonelli. This should see Marko Pjaca supporting a front two of Sam Lammers and Martin Satriano.