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By Sam McGuire
The Reds sit top of the Premier League table and kicked off their Champions League campaign with a 3-1 win against Milan away at San Siro.
The only hiccup for Slot and his players arrived against Nottingham Forest, at Anfield, when the visitors stunned the hosts and claimed a shock 1-0 win. The Reds are back at Anfield this week as they take on Bologna in the Champions League.
Last season, Bologna shocked the masses to claim a fifth place finish in Serie A. They finished just seven points behind second placed AC Milan and just three points off of third placed Juventus.
However, they lost a number of key personnel in the summer. Riccardo Calafiori moved to Arsenal while Joshua Zirkzee was signed by Manchester United and manager Thiago Motta was headhunted by Juventus.
They did spend some money in the transfer window to bring in a number of new faces, but their start to the campaign has been a little underwhelming. Bologna are currently 13th in the Italian top-flight and have won just one match. On the flip side to that, they’ve only lost one game all season too and that was against the league leaders Napoli. They’re difficult to beat but they’ve lacked the quality to turn positive performances into all three points.
Vincenzo Italiano’s side kicked off their Champions League campaign with a draw against Shakhtar Donetsk. The Italian side managed to limit their visitors to a Non-Penalty Expected Goals haul of just 0.08.
The same cannot be said for their defensive performances in Serie A. Bologna have an Expected Goals Conceded per 90 average of 1.36. Worryingly for them, Napoli and Atalanta are the only top teams they have come up against so far this season. The fact they’ve been as leaky as they have been while facing mid-table teams at best is not a good sign.
Italiano will no doubt be obsessing over this ahead of the game at Anfield. Bologna aren’t the best defensively and they’re coming up against one of the best attacking sides in Europe. The Reds are averaging two goals per game and have the second highest Expected Goals haul in the Premier League.
This should be a routine win for Liverpool. If they’re focused and professional, it will be. If, however, they take it for granted, another Anfield upset could be on the cards.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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