SEVEN ROUNDS TO GO AND ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!
Round 32 Matchups complete with match ratings!
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LECCE V UDINESE RELEGATION DOUBLE HEADER DAY! The weekend starts off with 2 Friday matches that are huge in the relegation race. First up is Lecce who are in a catastrophic freefall. They have only 1 point in 8 games and have scored just 2 goals during that period. This ‘dip’ in form has watched them fall all the way from 15th to…. 16th? They face Udinese who had a similar stretch earlier this year, where they won just 1 in 17. Since then they have been playing much better and scoring goals in bunches. They have 10 points and 10 goals over their last 6 games. That bump in form has seen them go from 10th to….. 12th? Let’s just say it’s hard to explain the league this year. Lecce need a win. They are at home. Udinese has remembered how to score of late and don’t care about your problems. In a fun game we get goals from each side I’ll say Udinese WINS
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SPEZIA V MONZA On the back end of the Friday relegation double header is Spezia. Spezia’s fortunes of late have been quite bleak. They have won just 1 game in their last 13 and have dropped all the way from 17th to…. 17th! To be fair to them their losses over that stretch are to Napoli, Juve, Lazio, Bologna and Sassuolo. No bums in there. It’s go time now though and it starts here. Meanwhile Monza are in Bunga Bunga mode. They are safe. they won’t be in Europe. Time for Fester to start building the squad for next year. That doesn’t mean they aren’t playing well. Their last 2 games they beat Inter away and gave Fiorentina their first league loss in over 2 months. I have a soft spot for Spezia and their project so I will say this…. Monza rotates and Little Maldini gets a late strike as SPEZIA WINS!
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NAPOLI V SALERNITANA UPDATE! THIS GAME HAS BEEN MOVED TO SUNDAY SO IT CAN TAKE PLACE AFTER THE INTER/LAZIO RESULT. This one is simple. Napoli steamrolls and the celebration begins. That noise you here Sunday will be the whole island of Naples launching into space. NAPOLI WINS THIS GAME AND THE SCUDETTO!
p.s: The possibility of Ochoa standing on his head delaying the celebration? Nahhhhh.
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ROMA V MILAN GAME OF THE WEEK ALERT! These teams come in tied for 4th on points and are also level on goal difference. Milan come in fresh off qualifying for the Champions League semis and a 2-0 league win over Lecce. Leao has regained MVP form. Maignan has been top shelf. While it may not look like it every minute of every game this is the best form Milan has been on all year. Meanwhile Roma appear to be struggling a bit. They had to play everyone, including a one legged Dybala to advance past Feyenoord in the Europa League. Then they tried the same maneuver against Atalanta only to lose 3-1. Dybala and Wijnaldum are hurt. Smalling is doubtful as well. It looks like Roma’s backs are against the wall but that’s right where Mourinho likes it best. They still have Pellegrini (3 goals in 3) and old friend El Shaarawy and Cristante. It’s a huge week for them as they face Milan, Monza and Inter over the next 8 days. They are gonna need every bit of Mourniho’s magic. That all being said Milan get revenge for the last minute draw at home. Leao continues to shine. Perhaps even Theo pops up with his first goal in a while. Roma hold out for a half but ultimate MILAN WINS.
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TORINO V ATALANTA Torino is an absolute dentist chair at home. Atalanta are great on the road but lately that magic and the goals have dried up. What has been a banger of a fixture the last few years (21 total goals over the last 4 meetings) I can see as a dud this time around. Torino struggles mightily to have anyone not named Sanabria score. For Atalanta Lookman hasn’t scored in 3 months now and Hjolund has just 1 goal in 8. Juric smiles through a lackluster staring match that ends in a DRAW
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INTER V LAZIO in the ALMOST game of the week. Lazio comes to town in 2nd place, 5 points clear of the last CL spot. The defense is stout and with no European commitments Sarri’s Army is rested. Immobile is dinged up but they are getting contributions from everywhere. Zaccagni especially has been outstanding. They’ve also been really good on road going unbeaten in 7. Meanwhile Inter are coming off a big midweek Coppa win over Juve. Inzaghi has proven to be the cup master of late. The league has been a different story. They have lost 4 of 6 including 3 straight at home. They also have a nasty habit of playing like dog water after mid week matches. Nonno here REALLY wants to go with a Lazio win but I’m not going that far. In fact I’m going the other way. Lautaro bags a brace and the top 4 race is ON FIRE as INTER WINS
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CREMONESE V HELLAS Cremonese are done. Done in the league and after a Cinderella run are now done in the Coppa. They do in a sense hold the keys to the relegation battle as they play Hellas, Salernitana and Spezia down the stretch. Hellas at home has been on fire. Hellas on the road? They haven’t won a road game all year. Thing is as bad as everyone has been they can lose out on the road and still stay up. They have Lecce and Empoli at home down the stretch. They will likely win those. They aren’t winning this one though. Cremonese shows their mettle and Hellas are happy to get a point in a desperate DRAW.
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SASSUOLO V EMPOLI Sassuolo have been all over the place this year, sitting as high as 6th in the table and as low as 17th. They have beaten Juve, Milan and Roma but have also lost to Sampdoria and Hellas Verona. Empoli appear to be on the beach but surely still have work to do. With Salernitana, Samp and Hellas all on the schedule they control their own destiny, which helps. They are young and talented but it’s a long season. They go into this game with Vicario in goal and with De Winter recently added to the injury list. I don’t see going away to Sassuolo being the elixir they are looking for. Sassuolo is terribly unpredictable but I’ll say Lauriente gets a brace and Sassuolo rolls. Or maybe Empoli wins 3-0. Oh hell I don’t know. 2-2 DRAW?
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FIORENTINA V SAMPDORIA Samp are dead. Trash. Garbage. Dog water. Bet everything on Fiorentina to score and score a lot. In an absolute beatdown FIORENTINA WINS.
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BOLOGNA V JUVENTUS With Juve getting their points back Bologna’s dreams of Europe evaporated. It sure showed in the 2-1 loss to Hellas. There’s something to be said for finishing 8th behind the big 7 in Italy but brings no real reward. Play hard. finish strong. Wonder if Motta will get a bigger job this summer. Perhaps consider how much players like Posch or Ferguson might get on the market. This is not to downplay them. They’re damn good, especially when Orsolini is firing on all cylinders. It’s hard to say what Juve’s goals are now. With their deduction back suddenly top 4 is real. The Coppa is done with. Europa League, once their only path to salvation, now means squat. I hate to say teams ‘don’t care’ about a competition because I think that’s nonsense. Max is gonna want that, especially considering facing Roma and Mourinho in the final is still in the air. Can you imagine? That would be great. This game though? Meh. Max goes down and parks the bus. Loathesome Juve fans get the chance to call for Max’s head for a few more days after a hideous 0-0 DRAW.
Final Thoughts
The battles for top 4 and relegation are hot, hot, HOT. With half the teams in the league involved it places importance on almost every matchup. Buckle up folks. It’s gonna be a heck of a ride!
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.