Allegri and Tedesco Under Pressure Ahead of Serie A Clash

Pressure already bites at Allegri and Tedesco before a ball is even kicked.

On Sunday evening at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Napoli and Bologna meet in a Serie A fixture that feels heavier than the league table suggests – and it will play out live, free-to-air, on the BBC for viewers in the UK.

Allegri under the spotlight

Massimiliano Allegri’s Napoli started with promise. A clean 2-0 win away to Genoa on the opening weekend looked like the launchpad for a smooth new era in the south.

It hasn’t been that.

Since then, Napoli have lost three on the bounce across Serie A and the Champions League, a bruising sequence against Como, Inter and Arsenal. The slide has dumped the Partenopei down to 12th place and cranked up the scrutiny on Allegri just weeks into his tenure.

The Champions League defeat to Arsenal in midweek added injuries to insecurity. Goalkeeper Alex Meret limped off and will hand his place to Vanja Milinkovic-Savic between the posts. Alisson Santos also picked up an injury in that game and will not feature.

Discipline has been an issue too. Noa Lang was dropped for “disciplinary reasons” against the Premier League champions, but he is expected to go straight back into the starting XI on Sunday night, a reminder that Allegri needs all the firepower he can get.

There is no Scott McTominay until after the international break, so Kevin De Bruyne should again carry the creative burden from midfield. Billy Gilmour is tipped to join him and Stanislav Lobotka in the centre, while Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa has only just returned to training and remains one for the coming weeks rather than tonight.

One name to watch from the bench: Antonio Vergara, who is expected to be involved at some stage.

Tedesco still chasing first win

On the opposite bench – or rather, in the stands – Domenico Tedesco has his own problems.

Bologna are still searching for their first competitive victory under the new head coach. A 2-2 draw at home to Sassuolo last weekend finally put a point on the board, but it wasn’t enough to lift them higher than 16th.

Tedesco won’t even be on the touchline. He is suspended for the next two rounds of fixtures, leaving his staff to direct a side already stretched thin.

In attack, the options are brutally simple: Roberto Piccoli is the only available senior centre-forward. Nadir Zortea and Artem Dovbyk are both out, further limiting Bologna’s ability to rotate or change games from the bench.

Piccoli, at least, arrives with confidence after scoring against Sassuolo. Bologna will lean heavily on him again.

Team news and likely shapes

Napoli are expected to stick with a 4-3-3, built around De Bruyne’s passing and Rasmus Hojlund’s running in behind.

Probable Napoli XI (4-3-3):

• Milinkovic-Savic;
• Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Marin, Spinazzola;
• Gilmour, Lobotka, De Bruyne;
• Politano, Hojlund, Lang.

Bologna should line up in a 4-2-3-1, compact in midfield and hoping the trio behind Piccoli can find pockets of space on the break.

Probable Bologna XI (4-2-3-1):

• Skorupski;
• Holm, Heggem, Theate, Miranda;
• Ferguson, Pobega;
• Bernardeschi, Odgaard, Cambiaghi;
• Piccoli.

Kick-off is set for 17.00 BST in Naples.

Where to watch

In the UK, the game 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 win between them this season, both already feeling the heat. By full-time, whose project looks stable, and whose starts to shake?