Bologna are under pressure to take at least a point as last weekend's goalless tie at Lazio left them 16th in the standings, one point clear of the drop zone.
The major problem seems to be goalscoring, the Rossoblu have only managed 14 goals in 14 matches. Veteran Marco Di Vaio is not as prolific as he was last term, while Marcelo Zalayeta must improve his proficiency in front of goal as witnessed in last week’s 0-0 draw with Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico.
Bologna’s form has been erratic this season, but they have fared fairly well in front of their own fans, with recent wins over Siena and Palermo before a loss to league-leaders Inter at the Dall’Ara.
Stephen Appiah’s transfer is finally registered and he possibly could make his Bologna debut on Sunday.
The Ghana star has plenty of Serie A experience with Udinese, Parma, Brescia, and Juventus and the 28-year-old will no doubt add some much needed effort and ingenuity for a team like Bologna, battling against relegation.
Defender Andrea Raggi and veteran midfielder Massimo Mutarelli are in the treatment room. The hardworking Nicola Mingazzini is suspended. The Rossoblu may employ a trident in hopes of hitting Udinese early with Adailton behind former Italian international Marco Di Vaio and Marcelo Zalayeta.
Udinese got back on track with a 2-0 victory against Livorno last weekend that signified the return to form of star Antonio Di Natale, who had a splendid match and will be relied on once again at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara.
However, the Zebrette have the worrying statistic of being only one of the three teams that have failed to win on the road this season. Pasquale Marino’s men have only picked up two points on their travels in 2009-10.
Udinese will be without Simone Pepe, Christian Obodo, Giovanni Pasquale, Alexis Sanchez, Damiano Ferronetti, and Niki Zimling, all due to injury.
Gaetano D’Agostino and Gokhan Inler will once again pull the strings in midfield with the in-form Di Natale supporting Antonio Flores in attack.
REVIEW:
Struggling Bologna gained a morale boosting and much needed three points at home on Sunday afternoon as they defeated Udinese 2-1.
Martins Adailton gave them the lead in the 27th minute but Antonio Di Natale equalized for the Europa League hopefuls on the stroke of half-time. But the home side regained the lead on 65 minutes when Marco Di Vaio converted a penalty.
The visitors began well, creating three openings in the first four minutes. The best chance came after Antonio Floro Flores saw his 25-yard shot cleared as far as Kwadwo Asamoah, who was off target with his effort.
Di Vaio saw his volley blocked by Maurizio Domizzi after the striker had been played in by Marcelo Zalayeta.
Di Natale fired in a shot on goal in the 18th minute after a decent turn but it was straight at keeper Emiliano Viviano, who saved comfortably.
Nine minutes later the hosts were ahead thanks to a brilliant free-kick from Adailton. The forward struck his shot with far too much pace and swerve for Udinese keeper Samir Handanovic.
Zalayeta then looked to pick out Di Vaio in front of goal but this time Handanovic was alert and he raced off his line to block.
Di Natale was taking the fight to Bologna almost single-handed and he cut in from the left before firing in a shot from a narrow angle that Viviano did well to keep out.
And the Udinese striker was not to be denied in first-half injury time. Mauricio Isla found Di Natale with a well-timed pass and the forward ran into the area before easily beating Viviano.
Di Natale had a great chance to put the visitors ahead just after the break when he was played in by Floro Flores but this time he showed too much of the ball to the keeper.
Udinese were on top by now and, after Floro Flores had been denied by Viviano, Di Natale looked to have a simple task of tapping in the rebound but amazingly he missed the target.
And they were made to pay in the 65th minute as a Bologna counter-attack ended with Domizzi felling Di Vaio in the area. The striker picked himself up and made no mistake with the spot-kick.
Zalayeta nearly made it 3-1 but his shot was just off target after he had been found by Di Vaio.
The penalty seemed to have knocked the stuffing out of Udinese and it was the hosts who had the final chance of the game but Di Vaio could not get the better of defender Andrea Coda.