Bologna vs. Juventus match preview: Time, TV schedule, and how to watch the Serie A

No matter who has been the head coach and where in the schedule Juventus may have been over the last couple of months, the first fixture in the month of May has been one that has been circled the entire time. As the possibility of Juventus finishing in the top four has become more and more precarious, the trip to Bologna has become just the more important.

That day during the first weekend of May is upon us.

A Juventus squad that is far from full strength — gee, where have we heard that before this season? — head to the Renato Dall’Ara this weekend to try and increase their chances of finishing in the top four. The good thing for Igor Tudor’s side is that they are currently in control of their top four destiny, entering Sunday night’s trip to Bologna in fourth place and a point ahead of the team they will be lining up against this weekend. The bad news is that it’s been incredibly hard to predict what Juventus will show up for a while now, and the fact that Tudor will be without some of his best players this weekend will make that fact even tougher as they face a Bologna side that has shown in recent weeks it is capable of getting points against both of the Serie A title challengers.

Not exactly an ideal situation now is it?

But this is nothing new for both of the Juventus managers this season. It’s been a season of so much going wrong and things being such an uphill battle at times that it’s all added up to why Juve are where they are with four games to go.

Yet, at the same time, Juventus are in fourth place. They are in control of their own destiny when it comes to finishing in the top four. They are the team that all of the other competitors for a spot in the top four — and there are certainly a lot of them! — are chasing. That means if they take care of business the next four weeks, then they’re in the Champions League next season. It’s as simple as that.

But nothing about this season is simple. And nothing about this five-team logjam that’s separated by all of three points from Juventus in fourth to Fiorentina in eighth is simple. All five of those teams play Sunday — including two head-to-head six-pointers that will either add to the chaos or just continue to keep things as tightly packed as they are now.

For Tudor, though, it’s pretty obvious that the next two weeks are crucial considering it’s against two teams directly behind his squad in the standings. You drop points in either one or both of the Bologna and Lazio fixtures, then your chances of finishing in the top four ain’t looking so hot not matter how jam-packed everything currently is.

Sunday’s trip to Bologna might prove to be the toughest of them all.

We know how Vincenzo Italiano wants to play — he will press, press some more and then press into the final minutes despite his team not looking like it’s all that tired. How Juventus handle all the pressure will go a long way in how things play out at the Dall’Ara — which has been a place in which Bologna have won five of their last six home games.

Bologna’s form on the whole has slowed a bit compared to what we saw in January, February and then into March. But that doesn’t mean that they’re any the less dangerous — especially so with Juventus’ starting lineup far from at full strength in defense and up front.

It all adds up to a huge clash for a spot in the top four to cap off a Sunday in which Juve will take the field knowing what all of the other clubs behind them vying for that same spot have done. Sometimes that has helped this season, other times it’s ended up being a complete mess. There’s sometimes no in-between with this Juve team — and that could spell trouble against Bologna if the bad half shows its face again.

TEAM NEWS

• The big news coming out of last weekend was the player who will not be taking part in Sunday’s game due to suspension: Kenan Yildiz, who was handed a two-match ban because of his elbow to the face of Monza’s Alessandro Bianco.
• Yildiz, who turns 20 years old on Sunday, will be in the stands at the Dall’Ara to root on his teammates, according to Tudor at his pre-match press conference.
• Dusan Vlahovic returned to full training with the group on Thursday, but that didn’t clear the way for his return to the squad this weekend. Vlahovic was not called up as part of the squad traveling to Bologna, with Tudor sounding rather disappointed during his pre-match press conference that the Serbian striker didn’t pass late fitness tests.
• The same can be said for Teun Koopmeiners, who will miss his third straight game due to an Achilles injury he suffered against Lecce. That means both of the players which whom Tudor first relied on to play behind Vlahovic atop his formation are not available.
• The other injury absences are: Federico Gatti, Lloyd Kelly and the three long-term injuries (Gleison Bremer, Juan Cabal and Arek Milik).
• With all of the injuries, Tudor will only have six outfield players available off the bench against Bologna.
• That means Pierre Kalulu and Renato Veiga will be the only two healthy center backs to face Bologna. Tudor hinted that it will likely result in somebody who is not a natural center back, most likely Andrea Cambiaso or Nicolo Savona, playing as a center back if he sticks with his 3-4-2-1 setup.
• Tudor did not call up any players from the Juventus Next Gen squad to provide a little extra depth Sunday night. The Juve Next Gen face Benevento in the first round of the wild and winding road that is the Serie C playoffs a couple of hours before kickoff in Bologna.
• Four Juventus players are at risk of a one-game suspension if they pick up a yellow card against Bologna: Cambiaso, Savona, Khephren Thuram and Timothy Weah.

JUVENTUS PLAYER TO WATCH

No Yildiz. No Koopmeiners. No Vlahovic. Things are very much not at full strength when it comes to Tudor’s options up front in one of the biggest games remaining on the schedule.

But there is one guy who is available that has seen his form take a turn for the better since Juventus changed managers six weeks ago. And he will certainly be all the more important with so many other players out injured or suspended this weekend.

You have to believe that Nico González is feeling about as good as he’s felt in months just for the simple fact that he ended a goal drought that was close to entering its fourth month. González’s goal against Monza last weekend — a very impressive individual effort and an equally impressive shot that was perfectly placed inside the far post — was the first goal he scored since the last time Juventus played Monza … before Christmas.

It’s a goal drought that is now a thing of the past.

And like so many goal droughts that ende, you only wonder what’s to come next.

It doesn’t take a footballing genius to recognize that González is in better form since Tudor took over as Juventus manager back in mid-March. The goal against Monza is proof of that — and also something that highlighted one of his best qualities as a player as he cut in front the right and hit a gem of a shot with his left foot. And with basically the front three in which Tudor first started using when he came in to try and get Juve into the top four all out injured this weekend, he’s going to need some sort of spark from his new-look attack to even have a chance at claiming all three points.

Juventus need the Nico from last weekend, not from much of the last four months when they take the field Sunday night. Somebody is going to have to step up with so many regular starters out up front — and who better than a guy who just ended such a lengthy scoring drought just a few days earlier?

MATCH INFO

When: Sunday, May 4, 2025.

Where: Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, Bologna, Italy.

Official kickoff time: 8:45 p.m. in Italy and the Central European time zone, 7:45 p.m. in the United Kingdom, 2:45 p.m. Eastern time, 11:45 a.m. Pacific time.

HOW TO WATCH

Television: Fox Deportes (United States); TLN (Canada).

Online/Streaming: Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo, foxsports.com, Fox Sports app (United States); fuboTV Canada (Canada); OneFootball.com (United Kingdom); DAZN Italia, Sky Go Italia (Italy).

Other live viewing options can be found here, and as always, you can also follow along with us live and all the stupid things we say on Twitter. If you haven’t already, join the community on Black & White & Read All Over, and join in the discussion below.