Bologna take on the visitors Parma in the round 1/8-finals of Coppa Italia. The match will be played on Thursday, December 4th at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara (Bologna).
Bologna were viewed as a modest but stable mid-table side. Their breakthrough came under Thiago Motta, who finished 5th in 2024. But the Brazilian moved to Juventus, and without him they stumbled in their Champions League debut, failed to reach the playoffs, and slipped back into the middle of the Serie A table. Nevertheless, Italiano eventually achieved a strong result by winning the Coppa Italia. That secured a place in the Europa League where the Italians, after losing to Aston Villa in their opener, consistently collected points. They even produced a 4–1 win over Red Bull Salzburg. And in Serie A they visibly improved, securing a place in the upper part of the standings. The defeat to Cremonese on Monday, a 1–3 loss, came as a surprising setback. Bologna have generally maintained stable form, often demonstrating disciplined play and reliable results across multiple competitions. Their ability to control matches against opponents of different levels has been a key factor in their rise this season.
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Parma are unlikely to invest too much energy into this fixture. The Crusaders struggled for a very long time to return to Serie B — they finally achieved it under Pecchia, and only on his second attempt. Later, Fabio did not last a full following year, and the club collected 36 points, which was still enough to finish in a comfortable 16th place. After that, in the summer, they opted for a young Spaniard, Carlos Cuesta García. His impact has not been impressive, and he has certainly not provided any clear progress. It is telling that early in the season their only league win came against Torino, 2–1 (and in the cup they eliminated Pescara and Spezia, with the latter beaten only on penalties after a 2–2 draw). On the other hand, they managed to fight back from 0–2 to draw against league leaders Milan in November. Not long after, they lost their first-choice goalkeeper Suzuki for an extended period and replaced him with Guaita late in autumn as a free agent. They picked up an important win against Verona at the end of November, but then suffered a 1–2 defeat to Udinese in the last round. Parma’s performances remain highly inconsistent, with promising moments regularly interrupted by avoidable setbacks. Their difficulties in maintaining rhythm across consecutive matches suggest they may again struggle against stronger opposition.
Last season the Crusaders earned four out of six possible points, but they lost 1–3 at home in November. The hosts are stronger and should win by more than the minimum — the bet is Bologna with a -1 handicap.
Prediction for the match: Bologna to win with -1.0 handicap.
