Serie A: Juventus Must Rebound After Cup Failure

Bologna vs Juventus

Juventus missed out on their chance to reclaim the Coppa Italia as they suffered a dramatic penalty shootout defeat to Napoli in the final.

But the Old Lady must now put that disappointment behind them as they restart their quest to defend their Serie A title.

Juve are still on top of the table, one point ahead of title challengers Lazio, and they will look to extend that lead with their visit to Bologna.

The Rossoblù are comfortably in midtable and can play carefree football, which could make them dangerous opponents for the champions.

Talking Points

Bologna in a bad run of form

Bologna went into the break in play on the back of three straight games without a win. They lost 3-0 to Genoa, which is easily their heaviest home defeat of the season.

Serie A: Can Bologna win against Juventus in front of their home supporters — Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic acknowledges the fans before their match against Lazio

They then needed a stoppage-time equaliser from Rodrigo Palacio to draw 1-1 against Udinese at home. They also lost 2-0 away to Lazio, although the Serie A 2020 odds were heavily against them in that match.

But despite this dip in form, they still rewarded manager Sinisa Mihajlovic — who has been battling leukemia since last year — with a new contract.

Bologna will be without regular starting centre-back Mattia Bani, as well as defensive midfielder Jerdy Schoten and back-up forward Federico Santander due to suspension.

Bani’s absence at the back will be a blow to Bologna’s subpar defence, which has conceded 42 goals this season and has failed to keep a single clean sheet in the league since the fifth game of the season September.

But on the bright side, all of Bologna’s key attackers will be well-rested and ready to go at a Juve side that hasn’t looked all too impressive since returning to action.

Forwards Riccardo Orsolini (seven goals, four assists) and Rodrigo Palacio (six goals, three assists) have had strong seasons for Bologna.

Meanwhile, Musa Barrow has made an immediate impact since arriving from Atalanta. The 21-year-old has three goals and an assist in seven appearances for Bologna. He scored two of those goals in Bologna’s 3-2 win over Roma, which is without a doubt one of their best Serie A 2020 results.

Juventus unconvincing since restart

Juventus have not looked all too impressive in their two games back since the break. They just about squeezed past a 10-man AC Milan side in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-finals, then lost to Napoli in the final on penalties.

Cristiano Ronaldo, in particular, has not played up to his usual high standards. He missed a penalty against Milan and was unable to make much of an impact in the final. Had it not been for the heroics of 42-year-old Gianluigi Buffon, Juventus might not have even made it to penalties.

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La Liga

Juve have failed to score in both of their matches thus far, the first time they’ve gone goalless in back-to-back games all season. But even before the pause in play, Juventus weren’t looking all that dominant, especially away from home.

They also failed to score in their 1-0 loss to Lyon in the away leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie. They also suffered back-to-back losses to Napoli and Verona in the league. Although, they did beat rivals Inter 2-0 in the Derby d’Italia.

However, it still seems reasonable to expect a strong response from the champions following their cup final defeat.

History

Juventus have absolutely dominated their head-to-head matchups with Bologna over the years. The two sides have played each other 43 times since 1996, with Juve winning 32 of them to Bologna’s two.

Bologna’s last league win over Juve came all the way back in 2011. In the 15 games since, Juventus have won 12 of them, including seven in a row.

Juventus beat Bologna 2-1 in their first meeting this season. Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring, and Miralem Pjanic scored the winner in the second half after Bologna equalised through Danilo.

Betting Tip

	Bologna vs Juventus	1X2 Juventus @ 1.60
	June 23, 03:45 (GMT+8)

SBOBET odds still have Juventus priced as heavy 1.60 favourites over Bologna, who are 5.40 to score a shock home win over the champions. Meanwhile, a draw is 3.90.

It’s hard to imagine Juventus failing to win third game in a row, especially after a disappointing performance against Napoli. Ronaldo will especially be raring to find the back of the net one again after failing to do so in each of their first two games back.

The champions should have too much for Bologna and extend their dominance over them at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara.