ELEVEN ROUNDS LEFT TO DECIDE MANY FATES!
Round 28 Matchups complete with match ratings!
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CREMONESE VS ATALANTA On the surface Atalanta are the clear favorite. Must need win in their attempt to crack the top 4. Best road team in the league over the last 5 years. Cremonese for sure to get relegated with only 1 win all year. Dig a little deeper and Atalanta only have 3 goals in their last 5 games. Cremonese, meanwhile have found their scoring boots and have been much more open of late. Don’t be deceived though. Atalanta find the back of the net more than once in what might be the fun/bad game of the week. Bet on goals from both sides as ATALANTA WINS!
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INTER VS FIORENTINA Despite 2 straight league losses Inter remain 3rd in the league, their attention clearly turned by CL. They also have Coppa action this coming week against Juve. It’s really a matter of survive and advance this next month. They really need international break Lukaku to show up after just 3 goals in their last 4 league games. Fiorentina come in winners of 7 across all competitions, outscoring opponents 16-4. They are very much alive in Europe AND now sit 9th in the league. Italiano has pressed all the right buttons but this is a huge test. Expect Fiorentina to come out strong and Inter to counter. A classic seesaw encounter, this is easily the game of the week. I really wanna go with a Fiorentina win, but I think the Inter counter game will be too strong. Lukaku strikes to earn a big 3 points towards top 4 as INTER WINS
PS: Did I mention Inter have not lost to Fiorentina in their last 13 matchups?
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JUVENTUS VS HELLAS VERONA I’ll be short and sweet. Juve will come out on top in some sort of mind numbing 1-0 game. Allegri will play the kids, which will make Juve fans happy, but they will play negative football which will drive them nuts. Hellas just here for window dressing. Allegri rotates for the upcoming Coppa game as JUVE WINS
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BOLOGNA V UDINESE Two teams going in different directions. Udinese with 2 straight wins after 3 months of wandering in the Serie A desert. There’s movement up top again and goals have followed. Bologna have floundered after climbing as high as eighth. Scoring has been a struggle for a while but they were finding ways to collect wins on the back of a solid defense. Then they gave up 2 against Salernitana and could only get a draw. They are always on a tight rope. How else to explain a .500 record with a -4 goal differential? I would call this even but Udinese are without Walace, Perez and Becao due to suspensions. For that reason I’m leaning on a late Orsolini winner as BOLOGNA WINS
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MONZA VS LAZIO A very interesting matchup here. Since their slow start Monza have been solid. They sit 13th but are in no danger. Maybe motivation is an issue but with Lazio coming to town it shouldn’t be. Lazio come in sitting 2nd and having recently quit on, I mean, ‘navigated their way out of’ Europe. Now all they have left to worry about is the league. That gives them a leg up on the rest of the top 4 contenders. Also Immobile is back to 100%. Also? Monza are without Izzo, Pessina and Rovella. Bet heavy as Immobile gets on the board and LAZIO WINS
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SPEZIA VS SALERNITANA Spezia have been better at home of late but they will be missing their talisman, N’zola. They are currently 5 points from safety which in Serie A feels pretty good. Salernitana have been on a roll since the coaching change. They are better away from home and, most importantly, scoring goals. A point for each might seem fair but 3 points for Salernitana puts a couple more gallons of gas into the tank for their drive to survive. Dia scores and SALERNITANA WINS
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ROMA VS SAMPDORIA After dropping back to back games to Lazio and Sassuolo, the fighting Mourinhos can’t possibly make it 3 in a row, can they? CAN THEY? Maybe. They are without Mancini, Cristante, Ibanez and Kumbulla due to suspension. That’s both starting CBs and their DM. Oof. Better score a few goals. Meanwhile, is that excruciating sound you are hearing from the north Sampdoria SLOWLY turning things around? Is that possible? Maybe. MAYBE. Here they lose CB Nuytinck who has been key to their better play of late. Watch the lineups. If Roma start both Dybala and Abraham and go for it they get one early and win. If they fool around this might be a hideous draw. I’ll go with the former. Dybala gets one before the clock strikes 20 as ROMA WINS
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NAPOLI VS MILAN Hard to say much about a game that no one wants to really show too much in. Spalletti through the first card by creating an injury for/resting Osimhem. I imagine someone for Milan will come up with some nonsense injury in the net 48 hours. What looked like a huge game a few months ago now looks like blah. A 5 star showdown is now a 2 star kick about. So blah I’m not wasting my time. Expect odd decisions in an odd game that I wouldn’t bet 10 cents on either way. Prepare to take nothing away from this. In a letdown I’ll say we see a bland DRAW.
PS: It’s been 5 years since Milan lost at Napoli.
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EMPOLI VS LECCE Both teams are without important pieces coming into this one. Vicario is questionable for Empoli after getting a concussion. Umtiti is out for Lecce due to suspension. Big losses. Also these 2 teams have combined to lose 8 in a row. Mailing it in are we? Being 10 and 9 points above the drop respectively you can’t really blame them. In what feels like a brutal 0-0 draw I think we see some open play and perhaps some goals. I’ll lean Lecce towards my favorites Colombo getting on the board and Falcone standing on his head as LECCE WINS
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SASSUOLO VS TORINO Saved the best for last, did we? Sassuolo are on fire. Winners of 4 in a row including a wild destruction of Roma on the road. They have found their offense through Lauriente and Berardi is having yet another renaissance. They only have 1 loss in 10 , to Napoli no less. Otherwise they have collected 20 points during that stretch. Only Fiorentina are on better league form. Torino’s form of late has NOT been as good but when you look deeper their only losses in their last 10 are to Fiorentina, Milan, Juve and Napoli. The rest have all been wins or draws. They are within striking distance of 7th but so are 5 other teams. Juric is doing it again with little talent at his disposal. I think we will see some goals as both Lauriente and Sanabria get on the board in a fun game. I’ll stay neutral and go with a 2-2 DRAW
Some very intriguing matchups through the middle of the table but the clear showcase is Inter v Fiorentina. Can’t wait!
Happy watching!
Lisi
PS: If you enjoy making a few bets the KICKS and PICKS PODCAST is a must listen. They touch on a lot of Serie A action but also have their eyes on other leagues across Europe. Fun show with excellent insight. Great for anyone new to the betting scene.