Buoyed by the impressive victory over Napoli at Stadio San Paolo, Parma aim to continue the good run and further close the gap behind European positions. Meanwhile, Bologna remained just one point above the bottom three after the fortunate draw with Inter Milan, and they will have to show a massive improvement in order to get something from Ennio Tardini.

Fantantonio making a bid for Italy World Cup squad

Inter Milan officials probably thought they had done a great piece of business when they swapped wantaway forward Antonio Cassano for Parma hotshot Ishak Belfodil, but it soon proved that it was I Ducali that profited from this arrangement. And while the Algerian has struggled to prove his worth at Giuseppe Meazza, Fantantonio has managed to get his career back on track at Ennio Tardini and seems to have even played his way back into Cesare Prandelli’s plans. It was the 31-year-old that scored the winning goal against Napoli last weekend as Parma ended a three-match winless run and no doubt he will be the man to watch against Bologna as well. In spite of the difficult fixture list, I Ducali have done really well to climb to the top half of the standings and with the team mostly facing bottom table sides in the next period, they can seriously climb the rankings before the New Year. Home game against out-of-sorts Bologna will feel as a perfect opportunity to build on the Napoli triumph.

Walter Gargano and Aleandro Rosi are banned, whereas Daniele Galloppa, Stefano Okaka Chuka and Nicola Pavarini are out injured.

“Bologna’s Kobe Bryant” a major doubt

Bologna were one of the surprise packages last season, playing some great football to finish the season in mid table, but it is hardly surprising to see the Felsinei struggling this term. The club officials have failed to sign proper replacements for Alberto Gilardino, Manolo Gabbiadini and Safir Taider, so they really have nobody else to blame for the fact the team are now serious relegation battlers. Even if boss Stefano Pioli has tried to emphasise Alessandro Diamati’s importance by comparing him to LA Lakers star Kobe Bryant, the reality is there is only so much the Italy international can do on his own, especially since he doesn’t have a proven goalscorer in front of him like last season. And with the 30-year-old missing several training sessions this week with a bout of flu, chances are he will not be even close to his best even if he recovers sufficiently to start the game at Ennio Tardini. Taking also into account that his teammates are all struggling for form at the moment, I seriously doubt Bologna will be able to match very good Parma side.

Alessandro Diamanti faces a fitness test, but Jonathan Cristaldo, Niccolo Cherubin and Henry Gimenez are definitely out.

Verdict

Parma have been pretty consistent this season and having won all home matches against bottom table sides, they can be trusted to build on the amazing victory over Napoli and see off Bologna as well. Meanwhile, the Felsinei are completely out of form and with Alessandro Diamanti not at his best, they really have nothing to hope for at the moment.

Top pick: Home win   1.85 (17/20) @ Ladbrokes

Alternative pick 1: Parma/Parma   2.88 (17/9) @ William Hill

Alternative pick 2: Parma to win to nil   3.10 (21/10) @ Paddy Power