After a summer of upheaval, Champions League-bound Bologna get their 2024-25 campaign under way on Sunday, with Udinese the first visitors to Stadio Dall'Ara this season.
Both experienced very different fortunes last term, and they now clash on Serie A's opening matchday for just the second time ever - and the first since 1957.
Match preview
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Defying expectations that a superb run would end in glorious failure, Bologna broke into Italy's top five last season, keeping some 17 clean sheets en route to securing their Champions League debut.
Before having time to fully celebrate their ascent to Europe's top table, several stars of the Rossoblu's stellar campaign were unsurprisingly picked off - most notably inspirational head coach Thiago Motta, plus England-bound duo Riccardo Calafiori and Joshua Zirkzee.
With Motta deciding to try his luck at fallen giants Juventus, the Bologna board moved swiftly to appoint Vincenzo Italiano, who came so close to Europa Conference League glory at Fiorentina, twice losing in the final of UEFA's third-tier tournament.
Italiano certainly has a lot to live up to at Stadio Dall'Ara, but pre-season results have been fairly positive, and some smart moves seem to have been made in the transfer market; in particular, the arrival of potent forward Thijs Dallinga has caught fans' imagination.
However, ahead of Sunday's top-flight return, Bologna have won just two of their last 14 Serie A openers, losing eight, and the pressure will be on Italiano and co to improve that record against opponents that struggled in 2023-24.
More positively, the Emilian club have not been beaten at home by Udinese since 2017, having also lost only once in the teams' last nine league meetings.
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Udinese's sole success during that period came quite recently, though, with a 3-0 victory in Udine last December - one of just six Serie A wins all season.
Like their hosts, the Friulani have a new man in charge for 2024-25, after interim coach Fabio Cannavaro only just helped them avoid relegation.
The World Cup winner stepped in to replace Gabriele Cioffi with Udinese sitting perilously close to the drop, and their destiny ultimately came down to a high-stakes shootout on Serie A's final matchday.
To guarantee survival, Cannavaro's side had to beat Frosinone, and an unlikely hero - injury-hit striker Keinan Davis - produced a crucial late strike to defeat their relegation rivals.
Now approaching their 30th year in the top flight, Udinese will be desperate to cure their inability to turn one point into three: no fewer than 19 of their league games finished level last term - the highest total across Europe's top five leagues.
New boss Kosta Runjaic - who becomes only the third German coach in Serie A history - got off to a winning start last week, when his team cruised through a Coppa Italia first-round tie against Avellino, with Davis and French forward Florian Thauvin among the scorers.
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Team News
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Although Joshua Zirkzee - last term's 11-goal top scorer - has joined Manchester United, Riccardo Orsolini remains with Bologna after also reaching double figures in Serie A, while Dutch striker Thijs Dallinga has arrived from Toulouse.
The latter has been a regular scorer in recent Ligue 1 seasons (12 in 2022-23 and 14 in 2023-24) and should feature on Sunday, when full-back Juan Miranda - a star of Spain's Olympics success - could also make his club debut.
However, fellow new boy Emil Holm has been ruled out by a knee sprain, while Oussama El Azzouzi also joins longer-term absentees Michel Aebischer (adductor) and Lewis Ferguson (ACL) on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, Danish defender Thomas Kristensen should be Udinese's only man missing for the trip to Emilia-Romagna.
Last term's top scorer Lorenzo Lucca - who netted eight goals and came into contention for Italy's Euro 2024 squad - has joined on a permanent deal from Pisa and should start up front.
Both Brenner and Keinan Davis were hampered by injuries during their first Serie A campaigns, but they are now fit and recently found the net against Avellino; midfielder Martin Payero may also fancy his chances of getting on the scoresheet - he scored in both meetings with Bologna last season.
Bologna possible starting lineup:
Skorupski; Posch, Beukema, Erlic, Miranda; Freuler, Moro; Orsolini, Fabbian, Ndoye; Dallinga
Udinese possible starting lineup:
Okoye; Perez, Bijol, Giannetti; Ehizibue, Payero, Lovric, Kamara; Thauvin, Brenner; Lucca
We say: Bologna 1-1 Udinese
Bologna may find themselves frustrated by last season's stalemate specialists, as Udinese have retained their key players and already have a competitive game under their belts: few teams have left the Dall'Ara with maximum points in recent months, so a low-scoring draw could be the outcome.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
