Monday’s encounter between Bologna and Sampdoria at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara will round off Serie A Matchday 32. It will be the 100th meeting between these two sides in Serie A as La Samp look to avenge a 2-1 defeat in the reverse fixture.
Bologna
The overall H2H record in Serie A gives Bologna a slight advantage. The Rossoblu have won 38 of their 99 previous duels in the competition compared to Sampdorias’ 31, with 30 draws. Interestingly, though, the last time their top-flight showdown ended level was in January 2014.
Since then, Bologna have racked up nine triumphs from their 13 league H2Hs (L4), winning the last six in a row by an aggregate score of 14-5. Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side netted at least two goals on each occasion, suggesting their four-game scoring drought in Serie A could come to a halt.
Inspired by a video-call preparation from the hospital by Mihajlovic, Bologna held table-topping Milan to a scoreless draw at the San Siro last time out. However, they head into proceedings winless in five Serie A matches (D3, L2), scoring just one goal in that period.
Sampdoria
On the other hand, Sampdoria made it four defeats from five league games by succumbing to a narrow 1-0 loss at home to Roma last weekend. Since a 1-1 stalemate with Venezia in mid-December, none of their subsequent 12 Serie A outings have ended level (W3, L9).
A draw could be a satisfying outcome for Marco Giampaolo’s side, given their dreadful league record at Dall’Ara. The Blucerchiati last won at Bologna in Italy’s top-flight back in 2003. Indeed, they have since drawn five and lost seven Serie A fixtures at this venue.
But Giampaolo will have an added incentive to snap Sampdoria’s dismal form at Bologna. A potential win here would be his 100th Serie A triumph as a manager. Keeping a clean sheet will be paramount for La Samp, as each of their three league victories under Giampaolo came ‘to nil.’
Bologna vs Sampdoria Potential Lineups
Bologna (3-4-3): Lukasz Skorupski; Adama Soumaoro, Kevin Bonifazi, Arthur Theate; Aaron Hickey, Jerdy Schouten, Mattias Svanberg, Mitchell Dijks; Riccardo Orsolini, Marko Arnautovic, Roberto Soriano.
Sampdoria (4-3-2-1): Bartosz Bereszynski; Bartosz Bereszynski, Alex Ferrari, Omar Colley, Nicola Murru, Antonio Candreva; Tomas Rincon, Morten Thorsby; Abdelhamid Sabiri, Stefano Sensi; Francesco Caputo.