Both Bologna and Parma will be looking to bounce back from defeats when they continue their respective Serie A campaigns with a clash on Monday night.
Bologna suffered a 2-0 defeat at AC Milan in their 2020-21 season opener on Monday, while Parma opened their campaign with a 2-0 home loss to Parma.
Match preview
Bologna finished 12th in Italy's top flight last season, winning 12, drawing 11 and losing 15 of their 38 matches to claim 47 points, and they have largely been a bottom-half side since returning to Serie A for 2015-16.
It is difficult to know exactly what to expect from the club this season as there has been a large turnaround in players, with a number both leaving and arriving during the current window.
Bologna would have been looking to make a positive start to the new campaign against Milan on Monday, but a double from Zlatan Ibrahimovic saw the hosts secure all three points at San Siro.
Sinisa Mihajlovic's side have actually only won one of their last nine in Serie A dating back to July 5, but they are unbeaten in their last seven top-flight encounters with Parma.
Parma won their final Serie A game of last season and had been victorious in three of their four friendly matches heading into their 2020-21 opener at home to Napoli last weekend.
It was an unhappy start to the season for the Crusaders, though, as second-half goals from Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne handed the visitors all three points at Stadio Ennio Tardini.
Parma finished 14th on their return to Serie A in 2018-19 and improved on that position last term, ending up in 11th, but Roberto D'Aversa was sacked as head coach at the end of August, with Fabio Liverani now at the helm.
I Gialloblu have been relatively busy during this summer's transfer window, particularly in terms of incomings, with Roberto Inglese, Yann Karamoh and Alberto Grassi among those to arrive on permanent deals.
Bologna Serie A form: L
Parma Serie A form: L
Team News
Bologna will be able to recall Gary Medel following a one-game ban, but the hosts will now be without Mitchell Dijks due to his red card in the defeat to Milan last time out.
There are not expected to be many changes for the home side on Monday, with Musa Barrow, Riccardo Orsolini and Rodrigo Palacio likely to line up in the final third once again.
Lorenzo De Silvestri is a new signing at the club, having joined on a free transfer from Torino, and the 32-year-old should again line up at right-back on Monday night.
As for Parma, Riccardo Gagliolo, Gervinho, Giuseppe Pezzella and Matteo Scozzarella are unavailable for selection through injury, meaning that Vincent Laurini could earn a starting role.
Inglese is expected to be joined by Andreas Cornelius in the final third of the field, meaning that Karamoh might have to accept a spot on the bench once again.
Hernani and Grassi should also feature for the visitors as part of a three-man midfield.
Bologna possible starting lineup:
Skorupski; De Silvestri, Danilo, Tomiyasu, Denswil; Medel, Schouten; Barrow, Soriano, Orsolini; Palacio
Parma possible starting lineup:
Sepe; Laurini, Iacoponi, Alves, Darmian; Grassi, Hernani, Kurtic; Kucka; Inglese, Cornelius
We say: Bologna 1-1 Parma
Interestingly, five of the last six Serie A meetings between these two teams have finished level. Bologna have won two of their last seven, with Parma failing to triumph in this fixture since December 2012. There is not an awful lot between the two teams in terms of quality, and we are expecting a low-scoring draw here.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:databody check tags ::
