Bologna boosted their survival hopes with a hard-fought win over Novara, but Felsinei need to continue the good run of results in order to avoid the relegation struggle. Juventus recorded a fourth draw in their last five league games as they shared spoils with Chievo, and the Bianconeri could face a tough task at Renato Dall’Ara.

Three wins out of four

Bologna are already used to fighting for survival season after season and it is no wonder Stefano Pioli’s men are coping well with the pressure. The Felsinei did stay without Viviano, Britos and Della Rocca in the summer, but they managed to sign a host of experienced Serie A players that obviously needed some time to gel. It is for that reason that Bologna experienced some difficulties in the first part of the season, but they kept raising their form as the league campaign unfolded and are now on top of their game. The team lost just once in last nine league games, while they won three of last four, including the impressive 3-0 victory over Inter at Giuseppe Meazza. With the likes of Marco Di Vaio, Robert Acquafresca, Gaston Ramirez and Alessandro Diamanti vying for places up front, Bologna boast a lot of attacking potential and they are expected to continue the good scoring run against Juventus’ makeshift defence.

Simone Loria and Robert Acquafresca are sidelined through injury, but Mikael Antonsson could return to the side.

Juventus in problems

Juventus are still unbeaten in Serie A, but 12 draws in 25 games is just too much for a side fighting for the league title and they will soon have to start turning some of the draws into victories. The Bianconeri sit three points behind Milan, but with a game in hand, after the home draw against Chievo, the fourth in last five league games. Antonio Conte’s side are clearly going through a rough patch at the moment and not even their back line is working properly any more. Juventus conceded a goal in every one of their last three games and the trend looks likely to continue now that key defender Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli are out through injury. The good thing is that Juventus are scoring goals on regular basis, although they need to improve in that department as well. The Old Lady now have a good chance to return to the Serie A summit, although they might have to work hard for a win in Bologna.

In the absence of Chiellini and Barzagli, Martin Caceres and Leonardo Bonucci are expected to form the centre-back pairing.

Verdict

Having won three of their last four games, Bologna will fancy their chances against out-of-form Juventus and the trio of Di Vaio, Diamanti and Ramirez will cause the visitors all sorts of problems. The Bianconeri have no choice but to try and win this game, meaning that we should see an open game at Renato Dall’Ara.

Our prediction: Both teams to score

Odds: 2.05 (21/20)

Bookmaker: BetVictor