It’s the halfway mark in the BEST LEAGUE IN THE WORLD!!!!
Matchups
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BOLOGNA V GENOA BIG game to kick off the week here. For Bologna it’s a chance to prove the loss to Udinese was a fluke and that the chase for the top 4 is REAL. For Genoa it’s a chance to prove an improved defense and good run of form (5 points from 3) is also real. Bologna are at home where they have 7 wins, 1 draw and just 1 loss and have conceded just 4 all year. A home fortress will be a must for them in the second half. Genoa have been ok away but have struggled to score. I worry that Bologna stumble again here and start fading back into the pack. The numbers say no. I’ll go with the numbers. Orsolini gets back on the board, Skorupski keeps a clean sheet and BOLOGNA WINS
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INTER V HELLAS First place team at home against a 17th place team that have just 1 road win all year. Inter are dominant and will have the first team ready to go. Hellas are in crisis and looking to sell players left and right. Probably 2-0 or 3-1. Possibly 6-0. A Lautaro brace or even a hat if he’s fit? Hakan PK? It’s all in play as INTER WINS
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FROSINONE V MONZA Frosinone has had some blips of late but they’ve also come against Juve, Milan and Lazio. They’re ok. They are more than ok at home. They welcome a limping Monza to town. They have 0 goals in their last 3 and just 1 win in 7. They struggle score but still put up a defensive fight. Frosinone play well at home and have scored in every home game this year except 1. An interesting matchup to be sure. Might be a solid DNB for Frosinone here. Maybe even a DC or Frosinone ML with an under? Depends how confident you are. FROSINONE WINS
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LECCE V CAGLIARI Lecce are on a 2 game losing streak but those games were away to Inter 2-0 and Atalanta 1-0. Nothing bad there. They remain solidly midtable with a very strong spine. They are missing Banda through red card suspension which does hurt them in terms of scoring. To balance that out Luvumbo, a quality danger man, is out for Cagliari. Lecce are better at home and Cagliari struggle mightily away, especially to score. This is almost a mirror image of the FRO/MON game. I’m just not as confident in Lecce’s goal scoring ability. They do enough here though. Under? For sure. LECCE WINS
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SASSUOLO V FIORENTINA WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! Potential land mine game here. Napoli were 4th just 3 weeks ago and fell off. Then it was Roma’s turn. Then Bologna. Guess who’s 4th now? Fiorentina baby! Just in time for a trip to Sassuolo who are a complete train wreck. But it’s Sassuolo. They are never truly dead. Guess who’s back? Berardi. I’m throwing all logic out the window here. Berardi scores. The 4th place curse continues. SASSUOLO WINS
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EMPOLI V MILAN Uou know how all of Juve’s game are kind of hideous but they find ways to win games? This kinda feels like one of those. Now I know Milan should be at full strength in the midfield and attack. They are rested. I also know LeĂŁo FINLLY got on the board against Cagliari in the Coppa midweek. I’m also fairly certain Theo’s transition to CB has been pretty damn good. It’s not that Empoli are good at home (THEY STINK) but Milan just really ugly things up away. It’s a win, don’t get me wrong. Just not a pretty one. I’ll go 2-1 Milan. We can’t keep a clean sheet on the road. Take the over as MILAN WINS
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TORINO V NAPOLI Trips to Torino are always brutal. To that point their 9 home games this year have featured 15 total goals. They don’t score much but they concede less. They don’t lose much either dropping just 1 of 9 this year. They will pack it in and counter. Napoli? Well they can’t score either and they will be without Osimhen for the next month. You’d think they’d be fine with Kvara, Raspadori and Simeone but not so much. They have just 4 goals in their last 7 and look a mess. Compounding things the defense SUCKS giving up 11 over that same 7 game run. They are also without Anguissa in the midfield due to a red card. A team that can’t defend and is struggling scoring away to a team that always plays low scoring games. Take the under and the Torino DC. Could be a 0-0 DRAW
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UDINESE V LAZIO Both of these got big wins last week. Udinese curb-stomped Bologna ending their honeymoon period. They are still down in 15th but trending up under Cioffi. Lazio also got a huge win at home against Frosinone. They kind of slept walk through the first 60 but woke up late and potted 3. I see something similar here. Likely 0-0 at the half where both teams save it ’til late to try and snag all 3 points. I say we see a second half PK from Immobile and leveler from Lucca. It’ll be low scoring and likely end up a spirited DRAW
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SALERNITANA V JUVENTUS Juventus won 6-1 midweek in the Coppa against Salernitana. Don’t be fooled. This won’t end 6-1. It will be a Juve win though. Take the under. Take the Juve ML. Don’t overthink it. JUVE WINS
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ROMA V ATALANTA GAME OF THE WEEK! Roma came down the stretch facing a make or break stretch. During that stretch they drew Fiorentina, lost to Bologna, beat Napoli and lost to Juve. During that same stretch they have dropped from 4th to 7th and now sit 5 points outside the top 4. That really makes this game a must win game at home. Dropping any points here makes that climb back to 4th much harder. Atalanta are on a decent run of form in the league, winning 3 of 4. They are still poor on the road and Roma is a tough place to visit. Goals are always at a premium. To that point each of their last 2 visits to Roma have been 1-0 games. Expect more of the same. Check the lineups. Lukaku and Dybala might not start but they will play. Ndicka is gone to AFCON. Lookman is out for Atalanta with a red. This will be cagey and low scoring but ultimately I think ROMA WINS
Final Thoughts
That’s it folks! The halfway mark of the season. It’s gonna Juve and Inter down the stretch but places 3-20 are up for grabs!
 #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!