Bologna will entertain Empoli at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara in Serie A on Saturday. The hosts recorded their first win of the season, beating Fiorentina 2-1 last weekend. Second-half goals from Musa Barrow and Marko Arnautovic helped Bologna overturn Lucas Martínez Quarta's 54th-minute opener.
Empoli, meanwhile, suffered a 2-1 defeat in their previous outing against Roma. Filippo Bandinelli equalised after Paulo Dybala had given Roma the lead, but Tammy Abraham's second-half strike gave the capital club all three points.
Bologna vs Empoli Head-to-Head
The two teams have met 24 times across competitions. The visitors have a narrow 7-6 lead in wins, while 11 games have ended in draws. Bologna are unbeaten in their last three home games, with two games ending in goalless draws and one ending in a 3-1 win.
Last season, Empoli recorded an emphatic 4-2 home win against Bologna but were held to a goalless draw away at the Renato Dall'Ara.
Bologna form guide (all competitions): W-D-D-L-D
Empoli form guide (all competitions): L-D-D-D-D
Bologna vs Empoli Team News
Bologna
Adama Soumaoro is the only absentee for I Rossoblu because of injury, having picked up a hamstring injury last month. He's only expected back into the fold in October. Nicola Sansone is a doubt.
Injured: Adama Soumaoro
Doubtful: Nicola Sansone
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Empoli
Lorenzo Tonelli, Mattia Destro and Tommaso Baldanzi remain sidelined with injury, so there are no fresh absentees for them to worry about at the moment.
Nicolo Cambiaghi returned to full fitness last week and made an appearance from the bench against Roma. Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro picked up two yellow cards against Roma, so he's suspended for this game.
Injured: Lorenzo Tonelli, Mattia Destro, Tommaso Baldanzi
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro
Unavailable: None
Bologna vs Empoli Predicted XIs
Bologna (3-5-2): Lukasz Skorupski; Kevin Bonifazi, Gary Medel, Jhon Lucumi; Lorenzo De Silvestri, Roberto Soriano, Michel Aebischer, Jerdy Schouten, Charalampos Lykogiannis; Musa Barrow, Marko Arnautovic
Empoli (4-3-1-2): Guglielmo Vicario; Petar Stojanovic, Ardian Ismajli, Liberato Cacace, Fabiano Parisi; Filippo Bandinelli, Nicolas Haas, Razvan Marin; Liam Henderson; Martin Satriano, Sam Lammers
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Bologna vs Empoli Prediction
Bologna picked up their first win of the league campaign in their previous outing and will look to continue that form at home. They have a better attacking record than the visitors, outscoring them 7-5.
Gli Azzurri, meanwhile, have a better defensive record than Empoli, conceding five goals against Bologna's seven. As Empoli have not picked up a win this term, they might struggle here. They are without a win in their last three games at Bologna and will likely lose.
Prediction: Bologna 2-1 Empoli