29 April 2023
Juventus step out at the Renato Dall'Ara stadium on Sunday night for the closing fixture of Serie A Matchday 32 against Bologna.
The sides met in the corresponding fixture in Turin at the beginning of October, in what was only the second official match for Thiago Motta, too early to see the effect of the 40-year-old tactician.
The former Italy international, who made his name in Serie A with Genoa and Inter, has since stamped his identity on the team, guiding them from the relegation zone to just outside the European places.
SEASON SO FAR
Since the season's turning point, Bologna have won six, drawn four and lost three of the 13 fixtures, matching the 22 points collected over the entire first half of the campaign.
In the meetings with teams in contention for European qualification, Bologna have remained unbeaten in the four matches faced since January. Draws with Lazio and Milan have been backed up by wins over Inter and Atalanta. The success over the Dea remains the most recent victory for Bologna, who have recently gone two matches without a win, including the 2-1 defeat last weekend against Hellas Verona - the first setback in six matches.
Bologna perform better in front of their own fans, winning seven and drawing six of their 16 games on home soil, scoring 21 goals, conceding 11. On the contrary, outside of the Dall'Ara, the Felsinei have won five and lost eight of their 15 away games.
Building on a solid defence, Bologna have collected four clean sheets in their last seven home games, a run in which they have lost just once and conceded only three goals.
KEEP AN EYE ON...
Although Thiago Motta is prone to switching his tactical set-up, one aspect remains relatively unchanged - four defenders across the backline.
While Juventus loanee Andrea Cambiaso has been battling to gain supremacy on the left side of the back-four, on the right Stefan Posch has become untouchable, starting all 22 most recent Serie A matches.
What's more, the Austria international has grabbed five goals - only two defenders have done better in their Serie A debut season in the last 10 years, Theo Hernández (six goals in 2019/20) and Achraf Hakimi (seven in 2020/21). Overall, Posch has been involved in seven goals in the current campaign, with five goals and two assists. Only Monza's Carlos Augusto with 10 has done better among defenders.
The 25-year-old's last involvement was to set up his team's goal in the 1-1 draw against Milan on Matchday 30, Bologna's most recent home outing. Worth noting is that three of Posch's last four participations have come at the Dall'Ara.
