Nailed 7 of 10 results last week. Best week yet I believe. After all head to head matchups last week all the big teams play lower end teams this time around. Who will hold serve? Who won’t? Let’s head to the matchups.
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LAZIO V LECCE Lazio have been in a funk of late, losing 3 of 4 in the league. The balanced scoring attack has dried up as they have scored just 3 in 4 games. Sarri teams tend to do this. He doesn’t rotate and tends to run his first XI into the ground. Well here we are! Lecce looked almost safe a week ago but a home loss to Hellas has everything up in the air again. What could have been a 4 point lead has shrunk to one. Their road form is terrible as they have lost 5 straight away from home. Despite recent struggles Lazio remain solid at home and also boast an excellent defense. A win here gives them a minimum 3 point cushion in the race for top 4 with 3 to play. Seems automatic right? RIGHT? DRAW
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SALERNITANA V ATALANTA Salernitana are now safe on 35. Before the road loss to Empoli they had gone 10 straight without a defeat. Perhaps a letdown after reaching a safe spot? Maybe. Doesn’t help that they have a bunch of players with various levels of knocks. Ochoa is available to play superman once again and lately that’s all they need. Well, that and some Dia magic. 15 goals and 6 assists at Salernitana? Amazing. Atalanta remain the road warriors of the league and they NEED this to stay within hailing distance of top 4. Last time these 2 teams played it finished 8-2 Atalanta. That won’t happen again. Atalanta pushes and Dia burns them in what should be a really entertaining 2-2 DRAW
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SPEZIA V MILAN Milan against a team in the bottom 4 of the table. We’ve heard this story before. Bennacer is definitely out. Leao will most likely is being saved for the 2nd leg of the CL clash with Inter. This game spels trouble all the way around. Did I mention Spezia needs any and every point they can scrape now that they sit in 18th, 3 points from safety? Wash the car. Mow the grass. Trim your toenails. Whatever. If you’re a Milan fan just avoid this at all costs. Just hope that Nzola doesn’t have one of those days and drop a brace. DRAW
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INTER V SASSUOLO GAME OF THE WEEK! Game of the week? Really? I mean it is slim pickings this week. Why not? GAME OF THE WEEK! Inter is red hot. An up and down start to the calendar year has given way to 6 straight wins where they have scored 17 and conceded just 1. They will have to rotate but that still means the likes of Lukaku and Brozovic will probably be on the field. Sassuolo remain as crazy as ever. After having a pretty balanced attack all year Berardi has been their only goal scorer over their last 4 games. Granted they were shut out in 2 of them. The team that IS crazy against the team that WAS crazy but is now red hot…. hmmm. Lukaku gets on the board as, rather easily, INTER WINS
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HELLAS V TORINO Hellas leapt to 17th last week with a surprise and really late win away to Lecce. Now they return home in hopes of widening their margin. Home has been kind to them despite a loss last time out against Inter. While I’m not a fan it’s hard to argue against their second half turn around. Ngonge was an excellent January signing and has a great nose for net. Torino are on the beach but have by no means tuned out. A recent win away to Samp and a draw against Monza prove that. Hellas just need something here and something they will get but not without a fight. DRAW
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FIORENTINA V UDINESE Fiorentina’s wild ride through Europe came to a standstill in the second half of the first leg against Basel. It’s not over but now it’s a steep hill. This game really means nothing for them. Expect massive rotation as they focus on the second leg. It might mean something to Udinese though. They are also on the beach but a long terrible spell has been followed by signs of life. No one played well for about 3 months but guys like Beto and Masina have been better of late, guys that need to prove they are good enough to be a part of things going forward under Sottil. A lousy end to the season could mean a lot of new faces. With all that in mind Fiorentina fall flat while Beto makes his case to stay as UDINESE WINS
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MONZA V NAPOLI So what happens when a team that has clinched the title goes on the road against a team that would like nothin more than to knock them off just so they can say they did it? Palladino’s men over reach and it’s a beatdown as NAPOLI WINS
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BOLOGNA V ROMA Ever since Juve got their points back and Bologna’s dreams of 7th were dashed they have been listless. They are still playing well, especially defensively, but that spark they had to snag wins late has faded. Orsolini is still playing well with 3 goals in 5. Posch is out with suspension and several others are questionable. Watch the lineups. Roma are on fumes but to Mourinho’s credit they are still battling for 4th AND have a 1-0 lead after 1 leg against Leverkusen in the Europa semis. They are getting healthy through heavy rotation and it’s paying off. Goals are scarce as they are getting nothing from Belotti, next to nothing from Abraham and the occasional gem from a one legged Dybala. 5 points from 4th with 4 to go? They oughtta worry most about winning Europa. Not that they will give this away but I expect ho hum DRAW
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JUVENTUS V CREMONESE Juve fans ONCE AGAIN lose their minds as they play super negative, can’t finish, Max makes bizarre subs yet somehow they find a late Rabiot winner as JUVE WINS
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SAMPDORIA V EMPOLI Really? This is the capper on the weekend? Imagine if the NFL put some trash like this in the Monday Night Football slot? Oof. Uhhhh…. SAMP WINS?
Final Thoughts
Four games left and yet so much to be decided. ON WE GO!
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.