Preview: Bologna vs Parma - prediction, team news, lineups

Hoping to halt their nosedive down the Serie A standings, free-falling Bologna will welcome local rivals Parma to Stadio Dall’Ara on Sunday.

Still without a home win in 2026, the Rossoblu suffered their third straight league defeat in midweek; meanwhile, the visitors have picked up just two points from their last four matches.

Match preview

Though Bologna had more of the ball in Tuesday’s meeting with AC Milan, they offered virtually no threat and were soundly beaten 3-0, recording their fifth loss in six Serie A home games.

There is no time to reflect, though, as the Rossoblu must try to stop the rot when they meet Emilian rivals Parma, before continuing their Coppa Italia defence with a quarter-final tie against Lazio three days later.

After making a solid start to the season, Vincenzo Italiano’s side have plunged headlong into a crisis since the start of December: no team has lost more Serie A matches - seven out of 11 - and they have conceded the joint-most goals (22).

Though they recently booked a Europa League playoff against SK Brann by winning their final league-phase fixture, Bologna now sit much closer to the bottom half than Italy's European places.

Another defeat in Sunday’s lunchtime kickoff would see them suffer four consecutive league losses at the Dall’Ara for just the third time to date.

With little else to lift the mood among fans of the Felsinei, at least history suggests they can avoid such a fate: Bologna have lost just one of their last 12 top-flight clashes with Parma.

Indeed, Parma have produced a single victory from their last 16 league visits to the Dall’Ara, while they were beaten 3-1 in the reverse fixture at Stadio Tardini.

Yet, the Gialloblu would move within four points of their regional rivals with a victory this weekend, having been miles apart as recently as November.

A positive string of results had lifted Carlos Cuesta’s side away from serious danger and towards mid-table, before two heavy defeats stalled that momentum.

Losing 4-0 to Atalanta BC meant Parma had also failed to score in three straight matches; a bizarre own goal ended that drought last week, but they still lost 4-1 at home to Juventus.

Yet to suffer three successive league losses under Cuesta, the league’s second-lowest scorers will try to reverse that slump by exploiting Bologna’s leaky back line.

Bologna Serie A form:

L D W L L L

Bologna form (all competitions):

W L D L W L

Parma Serie A form:

L W D D L L

Team News

The hosts’ struggling defence could benefit from the return of Colombian centre-back Jhon Lucumi, who has now completed his recovery from a hamstring injury.

Only veteran full-back Lorenzo De Silvestri is a doubt, giving Italiano plenty of options to choose from.

Once again, Thijs Dallinga and Santiago Castro will vie to lead Bologna’s attack: the latter’s only Serie A brace came in November’s reverse fixture, but he has scored just once on home turf this season.

Meanwhile, Parma will rely on Castro’s compatriot Mateo Pellegrino, who has scored six of their 15 league goals - and no-one else has found the net this calendar year.

Having arrived towards the end of the transfer window, new boys Gabriel Strefezza, Hans Nicolussi Caviglia and Franco Carboni could all feature at some stage.

The visitors are still missing injured goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, plus Pontus Almqvist, Lautaro Valenti, Abdoulaye Ndiaye and long-term absentee Matija Frigan.

Bologna possible starting lineup:

Skorupski; Zortea, Lucumi, Heggem, Miranda; Freuler, Ferguson; Orsolini, Odgaard, Cambiaghi; Castro

Parma possible starting lineup:

Corvi; Delprato, Circati, Troilo, Valeri; Bernabe, Keita, Nicolussi Caviglia; Ondrejka, Strefezza; Pellegrino