Bologna vs Parma Prediction: Cambiaghi to make a fool of Del Prato

Bologna’s 12-game unbeaten run came crashing down on Monday as they fell to a shock 3-1 home defeat in Serie A to Cremonese, and I Rossoblu must regroup quickly as on Thursday (17:00 GMT, Premier Sports 1), they host Parma in the Coppa Italia round of 16.

Below are my Bologna vs Parma predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this midweek encounter at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara.

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Team News

Remo Freuler (shoulder), Lukasz Skorupski, Ciro Immobile (both thigh) and Martin Vitik (muscle) could miss out again for defending champions Bologna, whose head coach, Vincenzo Italiano, may decide to make a few changes to his starting XI given the short turnaround in fixtures.

Torbjorn Heggem, Emil Holm, Charalampos Lykogiannis, Lewis Ferguson, Nicolo Cambiaghi, Federico Bernadeschi and Thijs Dallinga are among those eyeing up promotions from the bench.

Football Odds

Zion Suzuki (finger), Alessandro Circati (leg), Abdoulaye Ndiaye (groin) and Matija Frigan (knee) are all likely sidelined for Parma, who lost 2-0 at home to Udinese last Saturday.

Their boss, Carlos Cuesta, could make fewer changes to his starting XI than Italiano, but Nahuel Estevez, Jacob Onrejka and Hernani, amongst others, are pushing for inclusions.

Bologna vs Parma Odds

Bologna beat Parma 3-1 away from home in Serie A last month, and I Rossoblu are 1/2, or a 66.7% chance, to beat I Crociati - in regulation time - for a second time this season, while the visitors are 6/1 to triumph in 90 minutes, implying a 14.3% probability of success, with the draw, which would send the tie to a penalty shootout, offered at 11/4.

The hosts are 1/4 to win the tie by any means, with Parma 11/4 in the same market.

Bet Builder - Enrico Del Prato (PAR) Shown Any Card & Over 0.5 Goals @ 23/10

Parma captain Enrico Del Prato, who usually plays on the right-hand side of a three-man defence, looks like a solid bet to go into the book on Thursday.

I’m expecting Cambiaghi to start on the left wing for Bologna, and that spells trouble for Parma’s right-hand side.

Cambiaghi is one of the trickiest players to defend in Europe, underlined by his 5.1 fouls won per 90 minutes average in Serie A this season.

Despite only starting seven times in Serie A, making a further five substitute appearances, the 24-year-old is the division’s second-most fouled player in 2025/26, with 38 fouls won, putting him behind only Lazio’s Mattia Zaccagni, who is averaging 4.1 fouls won per 90.

Today's Football Fixtures

Del Prato, meanwhile, has been booked three times in 13 Serie A matches this season, and in 34 appearances last term, he picked up eight yellows.

He managed to avoid a booking in two appearances against Bologna this calendar year, but in the first of those, a 2-0 win for Parma in February, he committed three fouls, all on Cambiaghi, who won four free-kicks in total.

In their most recent meeting last month, Del Prato didn’t make a single foul, but two defensive injuries in the first half shifted him across the other side of defence, and Cambiaghi was only introduced in the 82nd minute, although, remarkably, he still won three fouls.

Both Teams To Score and Total Goals Over/Under +2.5 - Yes & Over 2.5 @ 15/8

This was a winning selection in last month’s head-to-head, with the first half of it landing inside the first 17 minutes. Parma’s Adrian Bernabe opened the scoring in the 13th second to record the eighth-fastest goal ever in Serie A, only for Santiago Castro to equalise 16 minutes later.

Castro doubled his tally in the 68th minute to put Bologna 2-1 up, before Juan Miranda made sure of the three points for the visitors in the second minute of stoppage time.

Bologna were involved in another 3-1 earlier this week, only the other way around, as they were beaten at home by Cremonese. It was the third consecutive game in which at least three goals had been scored, and made it back-to-back winners in the ‘Both Teams To Score & Total Goals Over/Under +2.5’ market following last Thursday’s 4-1 victory over Red Bull Salzburg in the Uefa Europa League.

Monday was the seventh time this season that the selection had landed in a Bologna game, while Parma (six) have recorded just one fewer instance of it, with their last two away matches finished 2-1, the first a defeat at AS Roma on October 29, and the second a 2-1 win at Hellas Verona on November 23.