Rough opener last week from the prognostication viewpoint. Could have been worse but certainly could have been better. Let’s see what we’ve learned about everyone.
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FROSINONE V ATALANTA Frosinone is bad. Real bad. Other than ALMOST holding on for a half against the defending champs and getting a consolation own goal there wasn’t much to write home about. Will they duplicate Monza’s start from last year? Speaking of slow starts Atalanta looked terrible during the first half last week. Then their new lord and savior came on… CDK!! Things instantly flipped and they easily controlled the second half. Typically a poor road group they looked very comfortable. This week? A tough one to figure. Frosinone has much to do in the window and Atalanta are clearly the better squad. Can they start the season with 2 road wins? It PAINS me to even type this but I’ll say they do the historically improbable and ATALANTA WINS
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MONZA V EMPOLI Like Frosinone both of these teams still have a lot of work to do. Smells of an early season boring draw. Looks like an early season boring draw. Take the under. DRAW
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HELLAS V ROMA Hellas found a late winner through a piece of skill and won on the road at Empoli week one. I’m honestly not sure that happened at all last year. Meanwhile Roma found some goals AND crapped the bed at home week one after being one of the stingiest teams at home last season. Two teams that completely went against form from last year. Hmmm. Hmmmmmm. You know it’s early so let’s get crazy. Hellas continues the early run and gets the win at home. Saponara puts in a banger as HELLAS WINS
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MILAN V TORINO Milan was great week win. Started off red hot and then controlled the rest of the match away to a solid group in Bologna. Meanwhile Torino played out a DREADFUL 0-0 draw at home to Cagliari. 4 total SOG in the game. Yuck. Juric’s men will be more expansive o the road. I see a wide open first half. Probably 1-1 by halftime? Then I think it peters out after that. Leao opens his account but so does Sanabria as the game ends in a DRAW
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FIORENTINA V LECCE La Viola rolled week one putting 4 past Genoa. They had a midweek European playoff game but they rotated and should be pretty fresh. Lecce shocked everyone by posting a late comeback against Lazio, the shock of week one. With one season back in Serie A under their belts perhaps they are more confident. I don’t think that will matter this week. Fiorentina keep scoring goals. Take the over as FIORENTINA WINS
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JUVE V BOLOGNA Juve looked great. Do not bet against Max especially when he can play the ‘no one believes in us’ card. Bologna started at home against Milan and now travel to Juventus. Who did they piss off over the summer? Don’t over think this. Szczesny keeps a clean sheet as JUVENTUS WINS
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LAZIO V GENOA Speaking of not overthinking. Lazio may have shit the bad late last week but they certainly do not stink. It will however take time to get back to normal. They have rebuilt a midfield but waited til summer was half over to do it. Not a wise move. Genoa looked horrendous at home. They gave up 4 but it could have been 8. They still have much work to do. Sarri’s men circle the wagons and right the ship. It won’t be pretty but in the end LAZIO WINS
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NAPOLI V SASSUOLO After a sluggish start Napoli reminded everyone who they are. They rode a hot start all year last year and seem to be reading from the same script. Unfortunately for Sassuolo they too are reading from last years script. A script where they floundered for 2 months before achieving safety. Other than Loriente the attack looked weak. With Berardi in transfer limbo that will continue. Napoli pots 3-4 and leaves scorched earth behind as NAPOLI WINS
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SALERNITANA V UDINESE Old man Candreva was a one man show last week away to Roma. They had 2 shots on target, both by him, in a 2-2 draw. Interestingly they only gave up 3 shots and 2 went in. Strange game. A week one game to be sure. Udinese got blasted by Juve. They remain in flux making lots of moves. That won’t help Sottil as coach. Makes you wonder whether he’s on the hot seat or will be trusted to rebuild this thing. Either way they struggle again. Dia gets on the board and SALERNITANA WINS
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CAGLIARI V INTER Inter away to a weak team after an impressive win. Cagliari looking to scrape any points they can get. Smells like a letdown for Inter, especially with tinker man Raineri on the opposite sideline. Brain say no way. Heart says Cagliari find a way. Can they get their second scoreless draw? Hmmm. I’ll say this gets to halftime at 0-0 and then Cagliari tries to go for it late and they get caught out. It won’t be pretty but Lautaro saves the day as INTER WINS
Final Thoughts
No huge matchups this week but some opportunities out there for some minnows to get off to big starts. Also chances for some bigger teams to bounce back. Let’s hope we’ve learned something. If not, there’s always week 3!
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.Â