Two sides separated by one point in mid-table meet at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara on Sunday, as Bologna welcome Udinese to Emilia-Romagna.
While the hosts went three games without a win before the international break and slipped to 10th place in the Serie A standings, their Fruilian counterparts toppled Milan to move up to eighth.
Match preview
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After losing to Torino in the aftermath of a memorable home win over Inter at the end of February, Bologna have drawn their two most recent matches - against Lazio and Salernitana - and a promising start to 2023 has started to stall.
Last time out, the Rossoblu had to twice fight back from behind to salvage a point against Salernitana, as Lewis Ferguson and Charalampos Lykogiannis both netted equalisers at Stadio Arechi.
One point from three games has seen them overtaken by both Fiorentina and Udinese, but the Emilian club have still reached a tally of 37 at this point of a Serie A season for the first time in 12 years.
Despite falling out with star striker Marko Arnautovic, progress has been apparent under the watch of head coach Thiago Motta, and having kept a clean sheet in each of their last two home fixtures, Bologna now seek a third successive Serie A shut-out for the first time since 2012.
Doing so could help them to victory over one of their chief rivals for a top-half finish, and history is certainly on their side: the Rossoblu have gone unbeaten in their last six top-flight meetings with Udinese and posted a 2-1 win in January's reverse fixture.
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Following that result at the start of the year, Bologna would do the double over Udinese for the first time in nearly two decades should they win again this weekend, but the visitors will arrive at Dall'Ara having defeated Serie A's reigning champions last time out.
Top scorer Beto - who bagged the opening goal against Bologna three months ago - now leads a side buoyed by events just before international football intervened, when he found the net again in a 3-1 win over Milan.
After Zlatan Ibrahimovic equalised from the spot shortly before the interval - following a controversial re-take - Udinese's Portuguese striker hit back just before the half-time whistle blew, and Kingsley Ehizibue's second-half strike ultimately sealed the deal.
As a result, the Friulani have tallied 38 points at this stage of a top-flight campaign for the first time in 10 years, and they are only seven points off the top six with 11 rounds remaining.
Having previously edged out Empoli 1-0 and held Atalanta to a goalless draw, Andrea Sottil's side have also conceded just once in their last three games - suggesting they could yet contend for an unlikely European qualification.
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After withdrawing from Austria duty with a foot injury last week, Bologna's Marko Arnautovic may now be out of action for a fortnight, so Thiago Motta will continue to select another striker to lead the Rossoblu line.
The ex-Spezia boss had already dropped Arnautovic due to a perceived lack of commitment in training, with Musa Barrow and Joshua Zirkzee instead vying to start up front.
Jerdy Schouten should be joined in central midfield by Nicolas Dominguez, who is now back from injury, while Riccardo Orsolini starts on the right flank. The latter has been involved in five Serie A goals against Udinese - including his first ever top-flight strike - and is the league's joint-top Italian goalscorer in 2023.
Udinese, meanwhile, have a defensive headache to deal with, as both Nehuen Perez and Rodrigo Becao are ruled out by suspension and Enzo Ebosse recently suffered a season-ending injury. Jaka Bijol should be available, though, after recovering from a knock sustained while representing Slovenia.
Festy Ebosele and Adam Masina are the front-runners to step into a reshuffled lineup, with Sandi Lovric likely to replace a third player serving a ban, midfield mainstay Walace.
In attack, Beto has netted in both of his two games against Bologna to date. Having scored nine times this term, he now aims to become Udinese's first man to reach double figures in successive seasons since 2017.
Bologna possible starting lineup:
Skorupski; Posch, Lucumi, Soumaoro, Lykogiannis; Schouten, Dominguez; Orsolini, Ferguson, Kyriakopoulos; Barrow
Udinese possible starting lineup:
Silvestri; Ehizibue, Bijol, Masina; Ebosele, Arslan, Lovric, Pereyra, Udogie; Success, Beto
We say: Bologna 1-0 Udinese
Though Udinese have proved hard to beat on the road, Bologna's home record is the sixth-best in Serie A, and they should taste success at Dall'Ara once again. Despite lacking a distinct threat up front, the Rossoblu can snatch three points with a single strike in Sunday's early kickoff.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
