Pressure Rises as Allegri and Tedesco Clash in Naples

Massimiliano Allegri has barely unpacked in Naples and already the temperature is climbing.

A bright 2-0 win away to Genoa on the opening weekend hinted at a smooth reset for Napoli. Since then, the wheels have started to wobble. Three straight defeats across Serie A and the Champions League – against Como, Inter and Arsenal – have dragged the Partenopei down to 12th and stirred familiar doubts around the new project.

On Sunday evening at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, that unease meets another anxious touchline. Domenico Tedesco is still waiting for his first competitive victory as Bologna boss.

The game, live and free-to-air on the BBC for viewers in the UK, feels bigger than the calendar suggests for early September.

Allegri under scrutiny already

Napoli’s start is not a crisis, but the trend is ugly. Losing to Inter and Arsenal is no disgrace, yet the run has stripped away the optimism of that opening-day win and sharpened focus on Allegri’s decisions.

The Champions League defeat to Arsenal did more damage than the scoreline. Alisson Santos came off injured and is ruled out here. Goalkeeper Alex Meret also limped off and will give way to Vanja Milinkovic-Savic between the posts against Bologna.

Scott McTominay remains sidelined until after the international break, so Kevin De Bruyne is again expected to shoulder responsibility at the heart of midfield. The Belgian should be flanked by Billy Gilmour and Stanislav Lobotka, with Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa only just back in training and still working towards a return in the coming weeks.

There is at least one spark on the flanks. Noa Lang, dropped for disciplinary reasons against Arsenal, is set to be restored to the starting XI. His response to that internal sanction will say plenty about the dressing-room temperature.

Antonio Vergara is also tipped to feature at some stage, a reminder that Allegri may need fresh legs and ideas if Napoli’s early-season stutter continues.

Bologna searching for a first win

If Allegri feels the heat, Tedesco is hardly cooling off. Bologna sit 16th, still without a victory in any competition under their new coach. A 2-2 draw at home to Sassuolo last weekend finally put a point on the board, but it did little to ease the sense of a side still trying to find its shape.

They travel south weakened. Nadir Zortea and Artem Dovbyk are both unavailable, stripping depth from the squad, and Tedesco himself will not be on the touchline. The head coach is suspended for the next two rounds of fixtures, leaving his staff to relay instructions from the stands.

Up front, the options are brutally simple. Roberto Piccoli is the only senior centre-forward available. He responded with a goal against Sassuolo and will carry Bologna’s attacking hopes again at the Maradona.

Probable line-ups

Napoli are expected to stick with a 4-3-3:

Milikovic-Savic;
Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Amir Rrahmani, Marin, Leonardo Spinazzola;
Gilmour, Lobotka, De Bruyne;
Matteo Politano, Rasmus Hojlund, Lang.

Bologna are likely to mirror their recent 4-2-3-1:

Lukasz Skorupski;
Holm, Heggem, Arthur Theate, Miranda;
Lewis Ferguson, Tommaso Pobega;
Federico Bernardeschi, Odgaard, Cambiaghi;
Piccoli.

Kick-off is at 17.00 BST, with the Maradona set to judge which coach handles the strain better.

Where to watch

In the UK, the match will be shown live on BBC Alba, with streaming available via BBC iPlayer and DAZN. Viewers in the USA can follow the action on Paramount+.

Two coaches, one early-season wobble each. Only one of them can walk away from Naples feeling the pressure has eased.