Serie A official line-ups: Napoli vs. Bologna
NAPLES, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 09: Kevin De Bruyne of SSC Napoli during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD1 match between SSC Napoli and Arsenal FC at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on September 09, 2026 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images)
Napoli in crisis after three defeats in all competition cling to Rasmus Hojlund, Kevin De Bruyne and Antonio Vergara against Bologna’s Federico Bernardeschi.
It kicks off at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona at 17.00 UK time (18.00 CEST).
This has been a dismal start to the campaign for both these sides, as Napoli had beaten Genoa in the opener, then lost three on the bounce to Como, Inter and Arsenal in all competition.
To make matters worse for Max Allegri, the injuries continue to pile up, with Alex Meret and Alisson Santos sustaining new problems in the Champions League.
They are out for several weeks, joining Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa, Scott McTominay, Giovane, Alessandro Buongiorno and Luca Marianucci on the treatment table.
Noa Lang was expected to return to the starting XI, after he was left out of the squad against Arsenal due to disciplinary reasons for having the ‘wrong attitude’ in training.
Instead, Vergara completes the trident with Hojlund and Matteo Politano, while De Bruyne and Billy Gilmour are again in midfield, despite having their first start of the season midweek.
Vanja Milinkovic-Savic takes over the gloves from Meret.
Bologna can’t say their campaign is going any better, as they lost to Lazio and Atalanta before clawing their way back to a last-gasp 2-2 draw against Sassuolo.
Artem Dovbyk scored that equaliser in stoppages, but he picked up an injury during training and has not made the trip, along with Riccardo Orsolini, Nadir Zortea and Oussama El Azzouzi.
Coach Domenico Tedesco begins a two-match ban after his red card for dissent, so is forced to watch from the stands.
It’s a Scottish duel in midfield with Lewis Ferguson facing off against Gilmour, but they change from 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3 formation.
Bernardeschi and Niccolò Cambiaghi fan out around Roberto Piccoli.
Bologna won here 3-2 towards the end of last season, and lost 2-0 to Napoli on neutral turf in the 2025 Coppa Italia Final.
Napoli: Milinkovic-Savic; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Marin, Spinazzola; Gilmour, Lobotka, De Bruyne; Vergara, Hojlund, Politano
Bologna: Pessina; Holm, Heggem, Theate, Miranda; Ferguson, Pobega, Amondarain; Bernardeschi, Piccoli, Cambiaghi
NAP
Positions
BGN
1
0
2
Last matches
| 05-09-2026 |
 |
L | |||
| 30-08-2026 |
 |
L | |||
| 22-08-2026 |
 |
W |
13
16
Position
0
1
2
Last matches
| D |
 |
06-09-2026 | |||
| L |
 |
31-08-2026 | |||
| L |
 |
24-08-2026 |
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