Italian Serie A
2025-08-30 - Bologna vs Como
A Sports Betting Pick by Cafa
Italy Serie A - Round 2
Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy (36,000)
Saturday, 30 August 2025, 18:30 CET
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Bologna Team News
We thought Bologna will hit the ground running and do well against Roma on Olimpico, but the opposite was the case. Instead of a confident defending team that allows no space whatsoever, we were witnessing a team that makes it easy for the opponent to enter the space between midfield and defence. It was so easy, Bologna was wide open. The sole goal came from a defensive error, otherwise this poor performance would have gone unpunished.
There was no change of coach - a rarity in Serie A this summer - yet the decline was obvious. Could it be that last year Bologna was still running on Thiago Motta's teachings? And now when Italiano had to do his own thing because Motta is a distant memory, Bologna is no longer as good?
We'll see. But the performance in Rome was poor. Last season, Bologna won there 2-3, and played 2-2 at home. The season before, with Motta at the helm, Bologna won both clashes.
Are we now finally witnessing the downfall of Bologna that everyone expected to arrive instantly upon Motta's departure last season? Could be. But we need to wait a bit to confirm this theory.
Como Team News
Como demolished Lazio with a dominant home performance in a 2-0 win that was never in question. The Spanish football style completely wrapped up Lazio with 63% possession, and the visitors never really got going. We expected good things from Como, but this was even better.
As opposed to, say, Cremonese's win in Milano, this wasn't a fluke and we can expect Como to keep going strong week after week. They're so good that they have a €20m player on the bench, Martin Baturina, who has yet to add good things to this midfield. Baturina's strength is to carry the ball into the final third and into the box sometimes too.
Como had virtually the same goal difference last season as a home and as an away team. At home they had 28:26, away they had 21:26. Not a massive difference, yet it amounted to 9 points less on the road. What we're getting at is that Como's playing style works on the road too, just not to the same extent, of course, as the other team is more confident and more eager to chase the score to go for the win.
Como is going places. The bookmakers are only cautiously beginning to recognize the quality of this side, so week after week, there's value to be had by betting on Como.
Probable Lineups
Bologna (4-2-3-1): Skorupski - De Silvestri, Vitik, Lucumi, Lykogiannis - Pobega, Freuler - Orsolini, Odgaard, Cambiaghi - Castro. Coach Italiano.
Como (4-2-3-1): Butez - Van der Brempt, Ramon, Kempf, Valle - Perrone, Da Cunha - Vojvoda, Paz, Rodriguez - Douvikas. Coach Fabregas.
The Betting Market
The price on Bologna is 2.45, with 3.10 on Como, and you might want to take the latter. Asian Handicap (0) on Como is priced at 2.10 and that sounds like a really good offer, though chances are you might simply get your stake returned.
Under 2.5 Goals is almost certain according to bookmakers, with a price of 1.61, yet Both Teams To Score: NO is priced at 1.80. This is because Como is a walking BTTS-Yes bet.
The Betting Verdict
To avoid all the pitfalls associated with whether or not Bologna will perform in this game, we'll reduce ourselves to a simple bet on Como to score at least once. The price is good enough to make it a viable bet as the price on Como to win is this high.
At this moment we do not yet know enough about the quality of Bologna, or lack thereof, to make any sort of judgement there. We thought they'll play well in Rome yet they haven't, and now they return home where they're bound to be in a better position. But the opponent is a tricky one.
So let's stick with Como to find the net. There will be a time to go for higher odds when few rounds of Serie A have passed.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Bologna 0-1 Como
