How will Bologna finish their season?

With Bologna’s recent bad run of form, they can be worried about ending up in the relegation battle. The teams behind them in the table have crept closer during the last month, while those in front have pulled away. How will Bologna finish their season, and should they be worried about going down? In this article, we take a look at Bologna’s remaining games this season.

31 games have been played this season, seven remain. Bologna started the season in a strong fashion and were positioned very nicely in 7th after eight games. The highlight was perhaps the strong performance against Sampdoria, a game in which Bologna won deservedly 3-0. However, from that point on Bologna’s form has had a downward trajectory, with particularly December and March being bad months point-wise. Bologna now find themselves in 11th, and have not been higher than that since round 15. With only eight points separating them from the drop they cannot deny that with the recent bad form, there is a possibility of going down if that form continues. Of the seven remaining games, there are some key games that will be crucial to achieve positive results in:

15/4-2018: Bologna – Hellas Verona

18/4-2018: Sampdoria – Bologna

22/4-2018: Cagliari – Bologna

29/4-2018: Bologna – Milan

5/5-2018: Juventus – Bologna

13/5-2018: Bologna – Chievo

20/5-2018: Udinese – Bologna

Of the seven remaining games, we’ve highlighted the most crucial games in which to achieve positive results. Bologna need good results against Verona, Cagliari, Chievo and Udinese, but Sampdoria as well is a game where Bologna can achieve something.

The recent bad run of form, which has lasted since February, can and should cause concern for the rossoblù supporters, but other clubs have more reason to worry. Benevento will almost certainly go down, while Verona, Crotone and Spal are the other most likely candidates to join Benevento in Serie B next season.

If we assume that Bologna win the highlighted games above, draw against Sampdoria and lose against Juventus and Milan, the rossoblù will end their season with 48 points. That’s seven more points than last year’s 41, which resulted with a 15th finish. That means that Bologna can still improve on last year, but to do that will require a dramatic upswing in form.

But, none of the highlighted games above will be easy to win. All of those teams still have a lot to fight for this season, and Bologna will certainly not find themselves playing against teams that are already in vacation-mode.

Verona find themselves right in the thick of the relegation battle, currently in 19th, two points behind safety.

Sampdoria are currently 8th, two points behind 6th and the Europa League.

Cagliari are 16th, only two points above the drop.

Milan are 6th, eight points behind Champions League qualification, which was their target before the season started.

Juventus are, as always, right up their in the Scudetto-race, and are currently four points above Napoli in 2nd.

Chievo are 15th, but only two points above the drop.

Udinese are in 13th, six points above the drop.

Given these numbers, all seven teams have every reason to fight for their lives, albeit for different reasons. The eight points that separate Bologna from the drop can seem like enough to see them in Serie A next season, but that can be a dangerous mindset to have. It can have the unwanted effect on the players so that they relax too much, and all of a sudden they’ll find themselves right down there. Facing off against teams that have more of a reason to fight for every point, Bologna can easily lose out.

However, Bologna’s target for the season was not to secure a place in next season’s Serie A. The target was always to improve on last year’s 15th finish, and while everything was positive earlier in the season, now it is not like that. Bologna are still in a position where a better finish than last year can be achieved, but the bad form must be turned around.

Given the owner Joey Saputo’s ambitions for the club, there will almost certainly be repercussions and alterations if Bologna fail to improve on last year.

How Bologna end their season remains to be seen, but you’ll find match previews and reviews for every game on Sempre Bologna, beginning with Hellas Verona this weekend.

Photo: Bologna FC