Napoli vs Bologna: Hosts to extend unbeaten run

Napoli take on Bologna in Serie A’s standalone fixture this Thursday. The hosts are in good form at present, currently second in the Italian top-flight, just three points behind leaders AC Milan with a game in hand over the Rossoneri. 

Their opponents travel to Naples in ninth-place, but have won just one of their previous six matches which sees them as firm bookmaker underdogs at 10/1 for the win, while Napoli are odds-on favourites to clinch the spoils on home turf.

I’ve taken a deeper look into the Napoli vs Bologna odds to pick out three value bets for Thursday’s clash.

My first play is Napoli to win the match to nil. The Italian title-hopefuls enter the game in great form having won their last four straight league matches on home soil. Furthermore, Luciano Spalletti’s side have kept three consecutive clean sheets in all competitions and have won two of their last three matches by a ‘to nil’ scoreline. 

Last weekend’s game against fourth-placed Roma ended goalless, which was another decent result for Napoli given they were away and managed to keep another clean sheet. They have the best defensive record in the league after nine games having conceded just three goals, and with Bologna yet to register a win away from home this term, I'm doubtful about their ability to score, let alone win this one.

My next bet is Napoli front man Victor Osimhen to score anytime. The 22-year-old is his club’s leading goalscorer this season with five goals in eight league games and ranks second in the chart for shots (26) and shots on target (10) behind only Lorenzo Insigne. 

Osimhen was on the scoresheet for Napoli last week, as the club beat Legia Warsaw 3-0 in the Europa League, while he also found the net in the 1-0 win over Torino 10 days ago so enters this match in top form.

Rounding things off, I’m plucking for a 2-0 correct score bet, priced at 7/1 with BetVictor. As previously mentioned, Napoli have an exemplary defensive record in Serie A this season, conceding just three goals thus far, while they have kept three consecutive clean sheets in all competitions - winning two of those games and drawing the other.

Their previous four league games have ended 1-0; 2-0, 2-1 and 2-0 respectively, and I’m expecting the pattern to continue against a Bologna side who are failing to impress at the moment. The visitors are without a victory away from home all season and I don’t see them posing too much of a threat to a Napoli outfit gunning for top-spot. 

In summary, I am confident in backing the hosts to win this game fairly comfortably and think they will extend their run of clean sheets, therefore 2-0 seems like a plausible final score.