Set to start their Serie A campaign at home to a promoted side, Bologna welcome second tier runners-up Salernitana to Stadio Renato Dall'Ara on Sunday.
After successive 12th-place finishes, the home team will hope to contest a top-half placing this season, while their Campanian visitors' only target is to survive.
Match preview
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Since the reappointment of Sinisa Mihajlovic in 2019, mid-table stability has been achieved on a regular basis at Bologna, with the Emilian outfit rarely looking in trouble of demotion but also never featuring among the sides contesting for a place in Europe.
Perhaps seeking to raise their ambitions a touch this season, a club promoted back to the top flight six years ago have managed to add some star quality to a workmanlike squad over the summer.
Maverick frontman Marko Arnautovic has been secured after leaving Shanghai Port and pacy forward Musa Barrow is now a permanent Rossoblu player, having signed on a permanent deal from Atalanta.
Furthermore, sporting director Walter Sabatini has claimed that in-demand defender Takehiro Tomiyasu is set to stay with the Serie A club despite strong interest from the Premier League. The 22-year-old Japan international ranked highly among Serie A stats for tackles, interceptions and clearances last term; also winning two aerial duels per match on average - starting either on the right or at centre-back.
Given their retention - so far - of one of their prized assets, Bologna will expect to improve on their recent record in season openers this weekend - as they have won just one of their last 11 first-day fixtures (losing six).
In fact, Mihajlovic's men won only one of their last 10 games last season - a 4-1 success against Spezia last April being their last league victory - and crashed out of the Coppa Italia after a spectacular 5-4 loss at home to second-tier Ternana on Monday.
Finding themselves 3-1 down at the break, even Arnautovic's debut goal in the second half could not prevent them going out in the first round, so the returning Rossoblu faithful will expect better against promoted opposition on Sunday.
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After losing their first Serie A encounter with Bologna in 1948, ever since, Salernitana have remained unbeaten against their more illustrious Emilian counterparts.
That may have a lot to do with the fact that the Salerno-based side have rarely featured in the top flight during the intervening years, but Bologna have failed to win each of their following three meetings - scoring only one goal and conceding seven; the last being a 4-0 thumping at Stadio Arechi in 1999.
Having been readmitted to the top tier following their runners-up finish to Empoli in Serie B, now Salernitana return to the elite after more than two decades away - representing the modest club's third stab at Serie A throughout a 102-year history.
Head coach Fabrizio Castori saw his side deny ambitious Monza and top-flight stalwarts Lecce automatic promotion in May and has been busy reshaping his side for a hard-earned crack at the big time.
Former Inter midfielder Joel Obi scored his last top-flight goal in 2018 against Bologna and has joined on a free transfer from Chievo, while top scorer Gennaro Tutino - on loan from Napoli last term - has been replaced by Crotone striker Simy. The Nigerian frontman was prolific either side of a mid-season barren spell, despite playing for the division's rock-bottom side, and joins Federico Bonazzoli (on loan from Sampdoria) in a new-look strikeforce for the Granata.
Bonazzoli enjoyed an excellent debut for Salernitana on Monday, scoring twice as they eliminated Reggina from the Coppa Italia; setting up a second-round meeting with Genoa in December. That followed a largely positive pre-season - a 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa aside - so the southern side will harbour hope of upsetting the odds at Dall'Ara this weekend.
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Team News
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Sinisa Mihajlovic looks set to persist with his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation this season, with new faces Marko Arnautovic and Kevin Bonifazi drafted into the attack and defence respectively.
Behind the former up front, Riccardo Orsolini, Roberto Soriano and Musa Barrow are the likeliest supporting triumvirate for Bologna, as they look to boost their goal rate in 2021-22.
Ahead of Sunday's big kick-off, Mihajlovic expects to be without Takehiro Tomiyasu, Mitchell Dijks and long-term casualty Federico Santander, but has no other significant fitness concerns.
The visitors, meanwhile, may wait to unveil new signing Simy in attack, as Federico Bonazzoli partnered well with Milan Djuric in the cup win earlier this week and the duo may start again in Bologna.
Midfielder Francesco Di Tacchio must serve a suspension and Frederic Veseli has a knee problem, so both will miss out, but Fabrizio Castori will otherwise have a full hand to select from. Therefore, Salernitana should line up in a 3-5-2, with a potentially all-African midfield trio comprising Joel Obi, Mamadou Coulibaly and Lassana Coulibaly.
Well-travelled former Norway Under-21 captain Stefan Strandberg arrived from Russia this summer and is expected to lead the Granata's three-man defence.
Bologna possible starting lineup:
Skorupski; De Silvestri, Medel, Bonifazi, Hickey; Schouten, Dominguez; Orsolini, Soriano, Barrow; Arnautovic
Salernitana possible starting lineup:
Belec; Gyomber, Strandberg, Jaroszynski; Kechrida, L. Coulibaly, M. Coulibaly, Obi, Ruggeri; Djuric, Bonazzoli
We say: Bologna 1-1 Salernitana
Bologna have proven in recent Coppa Italia action that they can be defensively susceptible, so Salernitana will fancy their chances of getting off the mark on Sunday by bringing home at least a point.
Particularly if danger man Simy can feature at some stage, the away side are likely to score at least once, while the hosts have renewed firepower of their own and can secure a first-day score draw.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Bologna win with a probability of 50.52%. A win for Salernitana had a probability of 26.45% and a draw had a probability of 23%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bologna win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.6%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.46%) and 2-0 (7.66%). The likeliest Salernitana win was 1-2 (6.64%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.59%). The actual scoreline of 3-2 was predicted with a 3.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Bologna would win this match.
