Week 5 was a Whopper…with CHEESE! Teams that desperately needed to win (Milan, Roma, Bologna) all got wins and the top tightened up as 5 of the top 10 lost. Only 3 points separate the top 7 in the tightest league in all of Europe!
Without further adieu it’s time to WHIP…IT…A-ROOOOOOUUUUUUND!
Matchups
v
MILAN V LECCE* Very important game for Milan here. Gotta keep the momentum going after the big Derby win. Home against an inferior Lecce team? Even a rotated squad should do the trick. It will be interesting to see how Fonseca handles this with CL coming next week. Does he rotate the starting lineup heavily OR does he start the starters hoping to bury Lecce early? Surely a test of how well he knows the group. Lecce are coming off a short week having lost to Sassuolo in the Coppa on Tuesday. That follows a late game collapse against Parma which saw Lecce lose a 2-0 lead in extra time. Should be a slam dunk for Milan. Consider Milan to be winning by half and also to win -1.5. Watch the lineup. Could be we get a Chukwueze start and if so I’m going AGS. MILAN WINS
*included in this week’s Whip Around since it’s the first game played of the round but check out our matchday post as well for additional thoughts and information! (link will added once available)
v
UDINESE V INTER Big game for both here after losses last week. Inter will want to bounce back after dropping the Derby. Inzaghi’s men are showing some cracks, especially defensively, and need to circle the wagons a bit. Udinese are this year’s Frosinone, racing out early to the top 4. Thauvin has been a boon and Okoye has been excellent in goal. The maddening defense of yesteryear is gone though. Can they get a result here to further their early season ambitions? I say no. Inter bounces back. Lautaro gets cracking. INTER WINS
v
GENOA V JUVENTUS Genoa are off to a slow start, especially at home. Like several teams, it’s not helping they have a midweek Coppa game shortening their rest. Not only that but it’s a Derby against Sampdoria. PSST…bet against ALL OF THEM. Juve will welcome a struggling team so handicapped. After several draws expect more of the same…except a win this time. Perhaps a ML win and under 2.5? Maybe the win and a clean sheet? Both seem very reasonable. JUVENTUS WINS
v
BOLOGNA V ATALANTA A battle of 2 teams struggling to balance the league and early season European commitments. Bologna bounced back last week with a late win away to Monza. A tough decision to get. Nice to see young Castro get on the board. Atalanta are also off to struggling start. The disaster at home to Como was very uncharacteristic. They are leaking goals in the league like crazy to the tune of more than 2 per game. Bologna’s defense isn’t much better. I really like BTTS here. Maybe even over 2.5 as well? I think we see a wildly entertaining 2-2 DRAW
v
TORINO V LAZIO Both teams are coming off midweek fixtures: Torino losing in the Coppa and Lazio dominating Dinamo Kiev in Europa. Torino continue to find goals but also continue to concede them. Funny how perennial defensive stalwarts Torino and Udinese are both now struggling to keep a clean sheet. Lazio are rolling. Dia got 2 more goals against Kiev continuing a great start. Castellanos got the day off so expect him to start. Consider him for AGS. Consider BTTS as well. Not sure my crystal ball sees either team winning though. DRAW
v
COMO V HELLAS Not sure anyone can explain Como right now so I’m not gonna try. They are finding goals though. Hellas? More or less the same. A poor defense is also now hit by the injury bug and a suspension. I like goals here again as well. These 2 defenses couldn’t stop a cold. Mix that with a first win for Como at home in the league and you should be able to afford a nice dinner. COMO WINS
v
ROMA V VENEZIA Venezia won last week. Do I care? Not really. AS I TOLD YOU Roma won at home in Juric’s debut by more than 1 goal and Dybala got on the board. Prediction here? More of the same. Wise for Roma to make that move before 2 very winnable home games. If I would have known better I would have parlayed these 2 wins. Perhaps not as many goals but a certain win. Watch the lineup. Dybala to score? Dovbyk? Why not? ROMA WINS
v
EMPOLI V FIORENTINA I’m all over Empoli early on this year. The defense has been excellent and the offense has been enough. They aren’t beating anyone 4-0 but they are getting enough to win games they would normally draw and draw games they normally lose. Unders aplenty for the most part. Queue up Fiorentina who have seen 12 total goals in their last 3 games. Expect goals. Loving Gudmundsson for AGS for Fiorentina. Also Colombo for TSOA for Empoli. Might be a nice number for BTTS here. Also perhaps a Fiorentina result on the road. BTTS and Fiorentina DC sounds good. Let’s go with that. DRAW
v
NAPOLI V MONZA As long as Napoli are in decent form I’m riding them to win at home whenever possible. Do I see any reason to go against that here? No. Defense is getting better too. Just one goal conceded in their last 4. Monza? Yeah no. Take Napoli minus 1.5. I don’t like it but you gotta ride this Napoli at home train as far as it will take you. NAPOLI WINS
v
PARMA V CAGLIARI Wow…what a clunker to finish the weekend. At least as far as the standings go. As usual with Parma bet on Man being the man. Shots? For sure. TSOA? Why not? Also bet on them to score AND concede. Mix in Cagliari and perhaps that’s even more so? Over 2.5? Maybe even Parma over 2.5? Could be we see a beatdown by Parma and EDF fired by the end of the day. In a weekend that could feature a ton of goals this game might have the most. RIP EDF. PARMA WINS
Final Thoughts
Fixtures are piling up in the Coppa and in Europe which is gonna give you an edge as long as you are paying attention. Also see a lot of goals this week which means some really entertaining fixtures across the board. Not a single dud this week as we hit round 6 in THE BEST LEAGUE IN THE WORLD!!!
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