Napoli's Left Flank Must Answer Bologna's Rigamonti
A derby with the table leaning one way and the legs leaning the other: Napoli need their left side to sing again, and Bologna bring a striker who has been scoring all autumn.
"He's scored four in five and he's still not the man I fear most," a Napoli voice said this week — a strange boast, given Tiziano Rigamonti arrives with 4 goals, 2 assists and a rating of 8.5 in his best of those games. Bologna sit 15th, but they have won two of their last five and lost only once; this is no soft landing for a side fifth on 24 points.
Napoli's worry is not the table but the tank. Basile Pirson, Stéphane Assélé, Alejandro Puig and Selçuk Yildiz all arrive tired, and Rammy Karagula is out with a twisted ankle until about 6 December. Bologna are worse off for legs — Enrico Consonni at 72% condition against Rubén Montes is a duel I would not wish on anyone — and Andrei Barbu is gone until January. The old boy Matteo Poziello, 189 games in Bologna red, will want this one. Watch Puig against Rigamonti in the air: the centre-back wins that battle on paper, and on paper means nothing on a derby night.