Napoli Missing Six Players for Bologna Clash as Allegri Eyes End to Losing Run
Napoli will be without six players when Bologna visit the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium for Sunday’s Serie A match, kicking off at 12:00 PM on September 13, 2026. Alex Meret and Alisson Santos are among the absentees as Massimiliano Allegri tries to halt a three-game losing run.
Napoli stretched ahead of Bologna test
Alisson Santos has been ruled out until October after suffering a medium-grade bicep femoris injury in the Champions League defeat to Arsenal. Goalkeeper Meret also came off at half-time in that 1-0 loss with a muscular issue, with Vanja Milinkovic-Savic taking his place.
Alessandro Buongiorno, Luca Marianucci, Scott McTominay and Giovane Nascimento are also unavailable, leaving Allegri with limited options as Napoli attempt to settle into his 4-3-3 system following Antonio Conte’s previous 3-5-2 shape.
- Napoli unavailable: Buongiorno, Marianucci, McTominay, Giovane Nascimento, Meret and Alisson Santos.
- Napoli boost: Noa Lang is in contention to start on the right after missing the Arsenal squad for non-football reasons.
- Bologna unavailable: Oussama El Azzouzi and Riccardo Orsolini are injured.
- Bologna touchline absence: Head coach Domenico Tedesco is suspended.
Napoli are expected to line up with Contini in goal; Marin, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Amir Rrahmani and Leonardo Spinazzola in defence; Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Stanislav Lobotka and Vergara in midfield; then Matteo Politano, Rasmus Hojlund and David Neres up front.
Bologna are set to use Lukasz Skorupski in goal, while Federico Bernardeschi, Lewis Ferguson and Jens Odgaard are options behind attacking pair Nicolò Cambiaghi and Roberto Piccoli.
Pressure building on Allegri
Napoli sit 12th in Serie A after defeats to Como, Inter and Arsenal in successive competitive fixtures. The run began after a 2-0 league win away at Genoa, but Napoli have since scored three times and conceded six in losses to Como (2-1), Inter (3-2) and Arsenal.
A further home defeat would sharpen the focus on Allegri, whose new tactical setup has yet to produce consistency from the squad.
Bologna are 16th and still waiting for their first league win of the campaign. Their latest Serie A outing finished 2-2 against Sassuolo, following 1-0 defeats to Atalanta and Lazio. Across their past five matches, Bologna have one draw and three losses, with their only victory coming before the competitive season started.
What happens next
The teams meet in Naples on Sunday, with both sides looking to change their early-season league position. Bologna won the last meeting at the Maradona, taking a 3-2 Serie A victory on May 11, 2026. The past five meetings are level overall: two Napoli wins, two Bologna wins and one draw.
