Serie A: Napoli vs. Bologna – Probable line-ups and where to watch on TV

Early pressure is creeping up on both Massimiliano Allegri and Domenico Tedesco ahead of Sunday evening’s Serie A clash between Napoli and Bologna, which will be available to watch for free on the BBC for viewers in the UK.

Allegri began his career as Napoli head coach with a 2-0 win away against Genoa in the opening round of 2026-27 Serie A fixtures, but he has since gone on to lose his last three matches across all competitions in a tough run of fixtures against Como, Inter and Arsenal across the league and Champions League.

NAPLES, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 09: Rasmus Hojlund of SSC Napoli competes for the ball with Ezri Konsa of Arsenal FC 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)

The Partenopei find themselves in 12th place ahead of kick-off.

Bologna are still looking for their first competitive victory under new head coach Tedesco, but picked up their first point of the season with a 2-2 draw at home against Sassuolo last weekend. They come into tonight’s game in 16th place.

Napoli will be without Scott McTominay until the international break. Kevin De Bruyne is expected to continue starting in the Scot’s place. Billy Gilmour is expected to join the Belgian and Stanislav Lobotka in midfield, although Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa has recently returned to training and could return in the coming weeks. Antonio Vergara is also expected to feature at some stage.

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)

There will be no Alisson Santos for Napoli after his injury against Arsenal in the Champions League earlier this week. Noa Lang was left out for disciplinary reasons against the reigning Premier League champions, but he is expected to be called back into the starting line-up on Sunday night.

Goalkeeper Alex Meret also came off injured against Arsenal and will be replaced by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic against Bologna.

The Rossoblu are without Nadir Zortea, Artem Dovbyk and head coach Tedesco, who is suspended for the next two rounds of fixtures. Roberto Piccoli is the only available senior option at centre-forward.

BOLOGNA, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 06: Roberto Piccoli of Bologna FC 1909 celebrates after scoring a goal during the Serie A match between Bologna FC and US Sassuolo at Stadio Renato Dall’Ara on September 6, 2026 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

Kick-off is due at 17.00 BST.

Napoli vs. Bologna: Probable line-ups

Napoli (4-3-3): Milinkovic-Savic; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Marin, Spinazzola; Gilmour, Lobotka, De Bruyne; Politano, Hojlund, Lang.

Bologna (4-2-3-1): Skorupski; Holm, Heggem, Theate, Miranda; Ferguson, Pobega; Bernardeschi, Odgaard, Cambiaghi; Piccoli.

Where to watch Napoli vs. Bologna

NAPLES, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 09: Massimiliano Allegri, Manager of SSC Napoli, reacts 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 Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Tonight’s game will be available to watch live in the UK on BBC Alba, online on the BBC iPlayer and through DAZN. Supporters in the USA are able to tune in via Paramount+.

Join us for all the pre-match build-up, in-game coverage and post-match reactions on the Football Italia Liveblog.