The most exciting league on the planet returns! 12 games in puts us at the 1/3 poll of the season. Games come thick and fast now through the end of the year. Let’s take stock, look ahead and WHIP IT AROUND!!!
Matchups
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SALERNITANA V LAZIO Salernitana has yet to win. They’ve changed coaches and no bounce. Oof. On the bright side the defense has been a little better and Dia seems to have found his shooting boots. Still they are 20th and firmly so. Lazio come in on a decent run of form of late. They are in good shape in the CL and though they are 10th in Serie A they are within striking distance of 6th. This is the perfect chance to get 3 points. They are however shorthanded missing Zaccagni and Casale to injury and Alberto to suspension. All signs still point to a Lazio win. ALL SIGNS. I’ll stick with that. Immobile scores one early and LAZIO WINS
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ATALANTA V NAPOLI We’ve got 3 matchups this week between the top 6 and this is the first one up. For Napoli the Mazzari era begins with a tricky trip to Bergamo. It’s hard to say whether we see a big change in tactics or not. My guess is he keeps it simple and sticks with what they have been doing. My hope is we see Simeone up top. Atalanta will relish Napoli coming in during a rough patch. There’s nothing Gasperini’s loves more than trouncing a big name. They are in fine form and have handled Europe very well. History tells us 2 things: Atalanta is underwhelming at home and the new manager bounce is real. For those reasons I’ll go with a DRAW
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MILAN V FIORENTINA Our second matchup amongst the top 6 this week finds Fiorentina traveling to Milan. Both teams have multiple injury issues and Milan is also without Giroud due to suspension. Peep the lineups and check out our matchday post before making any wagers.
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CAGLIARI V MONZA Cagliari are on an exceptional form of late winning 5 of 7. Of course one of those was a Coppa game and 2 were friendlies. No matter. Stock is high. Monza continues to Monza but Monza a little less on the road. They have 3 road losses but those came against Roma, Inter and Lazio. These early morning games tend to be a little crazy. Brain says Cagliari. Heart says Monza. I’ll say Colpani scores and we get a wild 2-2 DRAW
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EMPOLI V SASSUOLO Good luck figuring out these 2 teams. Combined they have beaten Napoli, Inter and Juve this year. They’ve also both lost to Frosinone and Hellas Verona. What happens when they play each other? Hard to say. Empoli will try and pack it in but I think Sassuolo will be able to cause enough trouble to sneak 1. Probably via a Berardi penalty. It’s ugly but I’ll say SASSUOLO WINS
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FROSINONE V GENOA Two teams both picked to struggle that are solidly midtable. Both have shown great endeavor going forward which is not the norm for newly promoted squads. That should make for a very entertaining game here. Soule leads Frosinone with 5 goals while Gudmundsson has matched that for Genoa. Neither team has good defenses so expect goals. Take the over. Maybe take a flyer on one or both of those guys to score. Frosinone has just 1 loss at home while Genoa have just 1 road win. I’ll go with the chalk here and say FROSINONE WINS
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ROMA V UDINESE Roma have won this game at home 9 of the last 10 times. They will not lose. Will they win? Yes. Check the lineup. Dybala plays? Lukaku plays? One of them is scoring. Perhaps both. LOCK OF THE WEEK ROMA WINS
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JUVENTUS V INTER Third of the big top 6 matchups this round. Goals will be at a premium here. This game has featured 2 goals or less 11 of the last 14 times they have met. Juve will not come out to play even if they are at home. Inter, who loves to live on the counter, will have no problem with that. They can bomb in crosses all day long via DiMarco and Dumfries and have 2 great targets. It will be a matter of if Juve can hold up. Juve will be happy with a draw. Inter will be too though Pippo’s little brother will have no problem pushing all game long. Maybe going on a limb here but I think we get a score draw. Juve finds something early and Inter breaks through late. Then again Chiesa just played 2 full games with the NT on break which may limit him to being a sub. That hurts their chances to score. Okay fine. Ever since this column started I pick Inter to win every week. Gotta stick with tradition. INTER WINS
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HELLAS V LECCE Gonna keep this simple. Hellas stink but they are always at least decent at home. Lecce are solid but without Ramadani. Lean Hellas. They have won the last 4 matchups against Lecce. Check the win or draw. HELLAS WINS.
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BOLOGNA V TORINO Bologna have been solid at home with 4 wins and just one loss. Torino are solid on the road with 7 points from 6. Bologna have just 6 goals at home through 6. Torino have just 7 road goals through 6. Bologna have made a habit of drawing the top teams and sneaking by against everyone else. Torino have righted the ship since the Schuurs injury going unbeaten in their last 3. Juric’s ability to rebuild the defense with whoever is available is amazing. Both teams have a lot of players with knocks so checking the lineup will be key. This might be a bit of a staring contest. These teams have combined for 10 draws. This smells like another on. DRAW
Final Thoughts
Break is over! Calcio is back! All is right with the world! #ONWEGO
Enjoy the Calcio!
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. Also check out everything the guys at Two Foot Talk do. Enjoy!