Bologna are one of Italian football’s established names, founded in 1909 and based at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara. For Celtic supporters, they sit in that awkward category of opponent: not glamorous enough to invite loose assumptions, but too organised and resourced to be treated lightly.
Their squad is valued at around £234m by Transfermarkt, with 36 players and an average age of 25. That points to depth as well as balance, and their season has carried weight beyond Serie A, with appearances in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals, the Supercoppa final and the Europa League quarter-finals.
They are eighth in Serie A, with recent league form that includes away wins at Atalanta and Napoli. The 3-2 victory in Naples and 1-0 win in Bergamo underline a useful away threat, reflected in an average of 1.6 goals scored per away match. At home, the numbers are tighter: 0.9 scored and 1.1 conceded per match.
Riccardo Orsolini leads their scoring with 14 goals, followed by Santiago Castro on 11. Federico Bernardeschi and Jonathan Rowe have eight each, with Jens Odgaard on seven, giving Bologna a spread of attacking contributors rather than a single obvious outlet.
Bologna are a capable, well-resourced Serie A side currently sitting eighth, with credible cup pedigree this season and enough away attacking output to matter to Celtic if paths cross.
📈 Key stats and insights
⚔️ How they compare to Celtic
Without Celtic’s matching figures in the dataset, the useful comparison is tactical rather than numerical. Bologna do not profile as a dominant attacking side overall, but their away scoring and recent wins at Napoli and Atalanta would demand respect; Celtic would expect to test a defence that ranks poorly in this sample, while being wary of a side who seem more comfortable striking on the road than controlling games at home.
