Last week we had some separation amongst the leaders as Atalanta, Napoli and Inter all win while the rest of the top 7 all either lost or drew. We also had some surprises as Torino knocked off Empoli, Milan laid an egg at home against Genoa and Roma were crushed late against Como. What will round 17 bring? Stay tuned as it’s yet another week of excitement and intrigue in THE BEST LEAGUE IN THE WORLD!!!!!Â
Matchups
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HELLAS V MILAN As usual tune into our matchday post for thoughts and suggestions…but this is a must win.Â
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TORINO V BOLOGNA Just when you thought that Torino and Empoli would end up 0-0, Che Adams came on and smashed home a banger. Don’t be fooled though, low scoring 0-0 possibility games are always in Torino’s blood. Speaking of defense, Bologna can also keep a clean sheet. They have conceded just 2 in 5 games, outscoring opponents 10-2 over that period. The often criticized Italiano has them playing really well. They have risen all the way to 7th now and are threatening to crash the top 4 party again. No Coco means Torino will double down on sitting. Check corner numbers for Bologna and also double down on the under 0-0 half and a Bologna DC and under 2.5 smell right here. I love me a nice fried Bologna sandwich on a winter day! BOLOGNA WINS
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GENOA V NAPOLI I don’t think anyone thought Viera was the answer after Gilardino. You can’t argue with the results though. Especially tallying 3 clean sheets in a row. Winning always starts in the back and he’s doing a fine job. Frendrup is a monster in the midfield. Can’t wait to see where he goes next summer. Scoring is a struggle but they just have so little in attack. Napoli slid a little but regained their footing with a late charge to beat Udinese last week. No Buongiorno and no Kvara for this one is a problem though. Might see them try and sneak one early and hold on. That would also draw Genoa out and make for a more interesting match. Let’s go with that. Napoli to win the first half and hold on for a win. I like Zambo to rip some shots here. It’s not pretty but NAPOLI WINS
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LECCE V LAZIO It burns my soul to go with Giampaolo but he’s getting results, especially at home. One might think Lazio bounces back strong after the Inter beatdown but I’m not so sure. Thinking you will get a nice number here on a BTTS or a Lecce DC and over. A 1-1 or 2-2 game is probably in the cards here. Always entertain Krstovic AGS numbers. Giampaolo keeps finding ways to keep Lecce afloat DRAW
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ROMA V PARMA GOALS! GOALS! GOALS! These 2 have combined for almost 4 total goals a game over their last 10. There’s only been one clean sheet in there. Love the over here. Maybe even over 3.5 if you are adventurous? BTTS by halftime? Man is The Man as usual. TSOA all day on him. Dovbyk will get SOTs and is certainly an AGS candidate. Total shots prop perhaps? These 630AM EST games usually are wild. Gotta go with the home side here. ROMA WINS
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VENEZIA V CAGLIARI When I see Venezia I am always thinking 2 things: Sweet ass jerseys and Pohjanpalo shots. When it comes to Cagliari you gotta lean on Mina and Piccoli shots. A Piccoli TSOA is always in the cards too. Neither team can really defend and both find ways to score goals. Especially late. I like BTTS here and especially more goals in the second half than first. Hard to predict a winner between these 2 teams. Cagliari are probably better but Venezia is at home. Smells like a 2-2 DRAW
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ATALANTA V EMPOLI A month ago this was classic irresistible force against immovable object action. Now with Empoli missing some players it’s hard to see them not get run over. Do I think they lose 6-0? No. Do I think it’s a 2-0 game that FEELS like it’s 6-0? Yes I do. An Atalanta ML and under might be a smart play here. Lots of shots and corners for Atalanta. Vazquez saves for Empoli? Watch the lineups. Should see the starters for Atalanta though. Look into shots for Djimsiti. Might be something nice there. Same might go for others in the midfield or defense for Atalanta. They will have numbers forward. ATALANTA WINS
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MONZA V JUVE Monza is going through some rough times. Long gone are the days when we would say that Monza was going to Monza. I suppose you could say Nesta is on thin ice but look at the injury list…Pessina, Djuric, Bobby Gags…yikes. Also little Maldini is out due to suspension. Juve come in having barely survived Vezina at home with a 2-2 draw. Yeah, you read that right. They have found their scoring boots though. They are better on the road in the league as well. Now that Koopmeiners has found some form take him AGS if he starts. Looks like a clean 2-0 Juve win. LOOKS LIKE IT. JUVE WINS
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FIORENTINA V UDINESE Fiorentina is coming in hungry after losing the Italiano Derby last week. A loss that not only had them watching Italiano celebrate like a fool but also meant Bologna gained a very important 3 points on them in the table. If they wanna stay in that top pack in the league this is a must win for them. Udinese might be 9th but they are only 5 points from the relegation spots. Every point for them is important as any sort of bender could see them drop like a stone. They have the horses but just can’t seem to gel. Losing Okoye in goal to injury hurts. I think they can score here but I don’t think they slow down Fiorentina. La Viola in a route. Something like 3-1 or 4-1. BTTS and Fiorentina ML perhaps? FIORENTINA WINS
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INTER V COMO Como are a nice little story with their pretty stadium and their fans. But that pretty boy is gonna go to San Siro and get WORKED. Inter might play conservative and sit in Europe, but in the league they come right at you and there’s nothing you can do about. Especially Como. This will be another Monday Night beat down. Hide the women and children. Hakan AGS as there will certainly be a PK. Bundle that with an Inter ML. Take the over. Take the Inter team total over 2.5 INTER WINS
Final Thoughts
Last weekend of Calcio before Christmas. Put on the footy while you wrap the Christmas. Sip some coffee. Throw some Bailey’s in there to ‘enhance’ the experience. Stretch that old Nesta jersey on over your dad bod and enjoy. It’s another great slate of games in the BEST LEAGUE IN THE WORLD!
Forza Milan
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. Also follow my boy Burroaks77 on Twitter. Guy knows ball and always has great tips. Great for anyone new to the betting scene. Enjoy the calcio!