Bologna vs Chievo preview - Stoian still looking down

Posted Saturday, January 12, 2013 by PA

Chievo midfielder Adrian Stoian is still looking over his shoulder despite the Flying Donkeys' unlikely assault on the top half of the Serie A table.

The Veronese club have emerged as surprise candidates for a top-10 finish thanks to a return of four wins from five games, outstripping the opponents Bologna by six points with their half-season haul of 24.

Isaac Cofie's first goal in Gialloblu colours decided a nervy 1-0 victory over Atalanta to lift his team to within two points of Catania, but the versatile Stoian is keeping one eye on the relegation places.

He told chievoverona.it: "After taking the lead we stayed tight and held out for the result, defending every part of the pitch.

"Up against a direct opponent, the points you win seem more hard-earned.

"We're happy to be eight points clear of the bottom three but we need to continue down this path and keep focused. Now we have Bologna, and then Parma, two very tough matches."

Dario Dainelli is suspended for the trip to the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, with fellow defenders Nicolas Frey and Boukary Drame unlikely to feature due to injury.

Bologna defender Archimede Morleo and midfielder Tiberio Guarente serve one-match suspensions as Henry Gimenez, Cesare Natali and Panagiotis struggle for fitness.

The Rossoblu's heroics in beating Napoli twice before Christmas are a distant memory as Bologna find themselves on the back of two straight defeats and contesting a relegation battle once again.

A 2-0 loss at Genoa was not the way coach Stefano Pioli wanted to start the year and Slovenia midfielder Rene Krhin is especially wary of being sucked back into the the bottom three.

He told the Corriere dello Sport: "Even if we did have more points than them at the moment, we would have to play in the same way because we are cautious of the results of other teams.

"We have to take advantage of the half-balls against a very tight Chievo side and pay a lot of attention to detail."