Serie A

Napoli vs. Bologna: a chance to change course

Napoli have lost two in a row, while Bologna have collected just one point from their opening three matches.

Victory is the shared objective for Napoli and Bologna when they meet at the Maradona on Matchday 4 of Serie A. The Partenopei opened with a win over Genoa but have since suffered back-to-back defeats against Como and Inter. Bologna lost their first two matches to Lazio and Atalanta before getting off the mark with a draw against Sassuolo last weekend.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

There have been 77 previous competitive meetings between the two sides in Naples: 40 wins for Napoli (most recently 3-0 in Serie A 2024/25), 23 draws (most recently 1-1 in Serie A 2011/12) and 14 wins for Bologna (most recently 3-2 in Serie A 2025/26).

Napoli beat Bologna in last season’s Italian Super Cup final: 2-0 on 22 December 2025, with a brace from Neres.

Bologna’s first-ever win in the history of the single-group Serie A came against Napoli: a 3-1 home victory on 27 October 1929.

DID YOU KNOW?

Napoli had not started a Serie A season with just 3 points after the first 3 Matchdays since 2015/16: on that occasion, the Azzurri had collected 2 points after 270 minutes. They eventually finished 2nd with 82 points, 9 behind champions Juventus. This is also Napoli’s 3rd-worst start in the three-points-for-a-win era.

Napoli have failed to win 3 of their last 5 home matches in Serie A: across the end of last season and the start of the current campaign, they lost 2-0 to Lazio on 18 April 2026, 3-2 to Bologna on 11 May 2026 and 2-1 to Como on 30 August 2026.

Bologna have won just 2 of their last 10 competitive matches across the end of last season and the start of the new one: both victories came away from home, against Napoli (2-3, Serie A 2025/26) and Atalanta (0-1, Serie A 2025/26). The remaining record is 3 draws and 5 defeats.

Bologna had not started a Serie A season with just 1 point after the first 3 Matchdays since 2022/23: they eventually finished 9th that season.

COACHES and PLAYERS

This will be the first official meeting between Massimiliano Allegri and Domenico Tedesco.

Massimiliano Allegri’s only defeat after taking a two-goal lead came in the match that led to his dismissal from Milan: Sassuolo-Milan 4-3 on 12 January 2014, with Domenico Berardi scoring all 4 goals.

It is the first time since 2021/22 that a Massimiliano Allegri side has collected so few points after 3 Matchdays: on that occasion, Juventus had 1 point from their opening 3 matches.

Artem Dovbyk scored against Sassuolo: it was his 16th Serie A goal in 2,903 minutes played, averaging 1 goal every 181 minutes.

DISCIPLINE

Suspended: none

Cautioned: none

REFEREE

BONACINA (MOKHTAR - RICCI) IV: MARIANI; VAR: MAGGIONI; AVAR: RUTELLA

UPCOMING MATCHES

Fiorentina-Napoli (20/9, 12.30)

Bologna-Torino (19/9, 15.00)

(Photo Getty Images)