Just like that it’s the last round of the season. Unfortunately not much in the way of drama or important games, but we do have a battle for that relegation spot. Might make for some tough picks but that will not deter me from taking some stabs.
Without further adieu, ON TO THE WHIP AROUND!
Matchups
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15 CAGLIARI V 8 FIORENTINA Congrats to Cagliari for staying up. Also congrats to Raineri for pulling off another masterclass and riding to the sunset. Great that they get to finish the season at home and safe to celebrate. Meanwhile Fiorentina still have some work to do. A win here secures Conference League for next year. Torino is right there 1 point behind lurking. For that reason I think they come here with a job to do. They have a week off after before the Conference League Final so they can play their best XI. They do that and get the win. FIORENTINA WINS
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11 GENOA V 3 BOLOGNA Genoa has been on the beach for what feels like 3 months. They remain a solid bet though whenever a DC and over is in play. One of the most dependable teams all year. Bologna come in playing with house money. That certainly showed in Monday’s 3-3 draw with Juve. I expect more of the same here. Bologna will rotate again, but as seen Monday they are deep and talented. Go with the over. Expect some fun. FULL DISCLOSURE: I have Bologna at 17-1 to finish top 4. I need a fucking win here. Go get me a win Motta and I will love you forever. BOLOGNA WINS
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4 JUVENTUS V 12 MONZA Bummer we are robbed of an Allegri farewell game. He went out on his own terms though. Good for him. As far as the game goes I think we see Juve play wide open and bang in a few. Especially if they start the starters. Consider Vlahovic and Chiesa both to score. Monza is cooked. JUVE WINS
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2 MILAN V 20 SALERNITANA Should be a celebratory atmosphere as San Siro says goodbye to Pioli, Giroud and Kjaer. All pillars of Milan’s return to the top 4 and regular players in Europe. I think Milan gets a few early and rolls. Leão smiles and shines. Might get a goal and an assist. Take Milan to lead by half. After that they rotate. Only bummer here is that in these meaningless games there isn’t unlimited subs. Otherwise everyone would play. MILAN WINS
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5 ATALANTA V 9 TORINO Atalanta are safe. This game also comes off the Europa Final. They win that game and they rotate like crazy. They lose… and they probably still rotate like crazy. Watch the lineup for them for sure. Torino have an outside shot at Conference League. They need a win and Fiorentina to falter. Honestly, I’d rather have La Viola in Europe. Torino aren’t close to ready for that level. For that reason I will take Atalanta to hold serve and Torino to finish 10th for the 33rd season in a row. DRAW
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10 NAPOLI V 14 LECCE Napoli also still have an outside chance of Europe. They would need to win and have Fiorentina lose out. Will that happen? No. Napoli have been a massive gambling letdown all year. Honestly you would have made a mint betting against them all year long. They haven’t kept a clean sheet since the Clinton Administration. A complete train wreck that DESERVES the title of worst title defense ever and does NOT deserve Europe. Lecce are so on the beach though. Napoli are at home. Maybe they DO salvage something? Lord knows they would be built to sweep right through Conference League next year. Fuck it! One last time! NAPOLI WINS
EDIT: There’s no way in hell I am actually betting on these clowns. Zero chance.
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18 EMPOLI V 6 ROMA Finally! Some games that matter! Well, it doesn’t matter for Roma. They can’t get to 5th. Watch their lineup. If they go all out Empoli are in trouble. Empoli are already in trouble because they can’t score AND they need a win. Roma will want to finish strong under DDR. Empoli will have to come out which will leave openings. I think that means we get a couple goals. Consider BTTS. Consider over 2.5. I don’t think Empoli win though. A draw is the ceiling. DRAW
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16 FROSINONE V 17 UDINESE This game has Biscotto written all over it. I think this stays 0-0 as long as Empoli aren’t winning. Lotta score board watching here that’s for sure. Could be an interesting day for live betting. If Empoli get an early lead then look for goals here. As long as they are level or Roma takes a lead this game is Biscotto city. A 0-0 halftime score here is probably a very good shout. Probably a 0-0 final is worth a sprinkle. Definitely tune in for this block of games. Some opportunities here for sure. DRAW
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13 HELLAS V 1 INTER Hellas with a chance to finish strong here. Inter will probably rotate and play the backup keeper. They will also be busy digging through the couch cushions looking for loose change since they are BROKE AS FUCK. Might see Lautaro on the bench rolling Zillow for a new house. You’ll probably also see Hakan sporting some ‘Hakan face’ knowing that extension probably isn’t coming. Hellas gives the home fans a treat. HELLAS WINS
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7 LAZIO V 19 SASSUOLO Sadly Lazio can not get to 6th. Dropping points late to Monza and Inter over the last few weeks has sealed that. Tudor has them playing great and they will finish strong. That shouldn’t be a problem as the walking dead, I mean Sassuolo, come to town. Look for goals here. Kamada has been red hot. Look for SOT and probably TSOA for him. Also look for an Immobile appearance and an inevitable PK goal for him. Consider a Lazio ML and over 1.5 goals. Maybe even Lazio -1.5? I think they smash Sassuolo. LAZIO WINS
Final Thoughts
Only a couple matchups of note…but that could mean some very open games. Look at the EPL last week. LOTS of goals. I would consider over 2.5 in all of the games that don’t matter, which is most of them. Maybe even parlay them all for some fun?
Also thanks to everyone for tuning in all season. This column is a blast to write. Hopefully it’s helped you have some fun with sprinkling some cheddar on a few games.
Just like that it’s the final round in the BEST LEAGUE IN THE WORLD!!!! Don’t believe me? The coefficient says so!!! #ONWEGO
Enjoy the Calcio!
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. Enjoy