Palermo is still fuming after the mid-week game’s 6th minute injury time penalty that saw them draw 2-2 with Genoa. Leading into this game Palermo has imposed total press silence in protest against the late equalizer and the number of extra minutes played.
 

Palermo
Ruled out: Edison Cavani, Simon Kjaer and Federico Balzaretti all suspended.
Home game record: 10-5-0

Palermo will be missing 3 important players for this game. Especially Uruguay forward Edison Cavani will be missed as he is the teams joint top scorer along side Fabrizio Miccoli with 10 goals. He will be serving the first of a 2 match suspension from insulating an official during the mid-week game. Also the absence of teen defender Simon Kjaer will be a blow as he has shown tremendous form and stability for such a young player. This being said though, Palermo is still unbeaten at home this season and a very strong team. Currently positioned on the crucial 4th spot in the Serie A but with 4 teams within 6 points of them they can not afford to leave a game like this without 3 points. The good news is that Fabio Liverani and striker Igor Budan is returning from suspension. Palermo has won 4 of the last 5 home games with the 5th game being a 1-1 draw against Inter Milan.

Bologna
Ruled out: Andrea Raggi and Vagelis Moras
Away game record: 3-4-7

After a good run in the league that saw Bologna move away from the relegation zone, they now found themselves closer to the edge. After a run with only 1 point in the last 3 games they are now “only” 7 points above relegation with 8 games to play. However they need just 5 more points in order to reach the 40 point mark, which is widely regarded as the target to avoid relegation. Returning for this game is defender Miguel Angel Britos and this could prove a vital stabilisation of the team. Coach Franco Colomba knows that Bologna isn’t safe yet and he is counting on the team to make the most of the coming games in order to secure their existence in Serie A before the final games as he wants to avoid a nerve biting finish. Bologna will be very focused on this and will no doubt be satisfied with a draw and hence will take a defensive approach to the game.

Conclusion
Palermo is somewhat weakened by the sidelining of a couple of key players but they have a wide selection of players to chose from. Bologna is also missing a couple of players and I do not count their depth to be as good as Palermo. Based on this and Palermo’s excellent home game statistics and the recent poor form of Bologna, there is no doubt that Palermo is favourites and I recommend betting on them to win.