Runaway leaders Juventus took another important step towards the Serie A title as they eased to a 2-0 win over second-placed Lazio on Saturday. Earlier, Sampdoria were held to a goalless draw at home by relegation-threatened Cesena, despite playing with four strikers as they attempted to improve their chances of qualifying for Europe. Inter Milan and AC Milan were forced to share the spoils, after playing out to a goalless draw at the San Siro on Sunday evening, whilst Roma continued to lose ground on the league leaders, after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Atalanta. Goals from Jose Callejon, Manolo Gabbiadini and an Antonio Balzan own goal handed Napoli a 3-0 win over Cagliari. With just seven matches to go, the Serie A could be wrapped up sooner rather than later, as Juve are now 15 points clear of Lazio and Roma.
Saturday
Udinese 21/10 | Draw 22/10 | AC Milan 27/20
Udinese are now winless in their last six matches after drawing 1-1 away to Chievo last time out. Inconsistency has been a key factor in Udinese’s terrible campaign. AC Milan earned a hard fought goalless point against Inter Milan at the weekend. Milan are unbeaten in their last four matches and despite their poor away record of three wins from 15 travels, should get up for the win here.
Inter Milan 13/10 | Draw 9/4 | Roma 21/10
Inter settled for a share of the spoils as the Milan derby finished goalless for the first time since October 2004. Earlier in the day, third-placed Roma failed to make the most of Lazio’s defeat as they were held 1-1 at home by relegation-threatened Atalanta in Serie A to move level on points with their city rival in second spot. Inter have conceded just one goal in their last four games, if their attacking can be as good as their defending, a win could be on the cards here. However, it’s difficult to pick a winner with Both Teams To Score looking a safer bet at 15/20.
Sunday
Atalanta 27/20 | Draw 21/10 | Empoli 22/10
Atalanta battled to a hard fought 1-1 draw away to Roma, keeping themselves seven points from the drop. They have managed only four victories from 15 home games but will be confident of claiming maximum points after the stalemate with Roma. Substitute Ishak Belfodil struck a 73rd-minute equaliser as bottom-side Parma denied Empoli a come-from-behind victory in Sunday’s 2-2 draw in Tuscany. Prior to their exciting draw, they had lost their last two matches, scoring zero goals and conceding 6 times. The home win is tipped.
Genoa 6/10 | Draw 29/10 | Cesena 9/2
Genoa fell to a 2-1 defeat away to Palermo on Sunday. However, they return to their ground, where they have won their last two home games, scoring four goals and conceding nothing. Relegation threatened Cesena showed their steel, earning a well deservedgoalless point at Sampdoria. However, their record on the road reads just one win from 15 matches, scoring 13 goals and conceding 28. The reverse tie ended 3-0 in favour of Genoa and they are tipped to pull the double over Cesena.
Verona 12/10 | Draw 23/10 | Sassuolo 23/10
Verona are now seven points clear of the drop zone and up to 14th, with Serie A survival looking pretty secure after battling to a 1-0 victory away to Fiorentina. Sassuolo come to town off the back of a disappointing 1-1 draw on home soil. They have lost their last three travels and should struggle here. Verona have won the last three meetings on their ground against Sassuolo and are tipped to get the victory once again.
Lazio 4/10 | Draw 7/2 | Chievo 15/2
Although Lazio were beaten 2-0 at Juventus on Saturday evening, their form has been outstanding, winning eight of their last nine league games. They have been excellent with 11 victories from 15 home matches. Chievo gifted Udinese an equaliser and hit the woodwork deep into stoppages as the game ended 1-1. Chievo have won three of their last five games, conceding just two goals. However, Lazio have won four of the last six meetings between the sides and are tipped to get the win here.
Parma 24/10 | Draw 24/10 | Palermo 11/10
Parma are coming off a well-deserved 2-2 draw away to Empoli. They have won their last two home games and will be looking to build on that. Palermo have been impressive of late with back-to-back wins after a nail-biting 2-1 home win over Genoa. However, they away form has been far from good as they have managed just two victories from 15 matches. The sides are tipped to cancel each other out.
Turin 32/10 | Draw 9/4 | Juventus 19/20
Its derby day as Turin host city rivals Juventus. Turin are unbeaten in their last four games with two victories, while Juventus moved 15 points clear at the top of Serie A with a comfortable 2-0 victory over second-placed Lazio, as they maintained their unbeaten home record. Juve, who have seven league games left and are closing in on their fourth successive title, need just three more wins to defend the Serie A championship. Juventus have won the last seven meetings against Turin, scoring 11 goals and conceding just 1. Go for the away win.
Fiorentina 9/20| Draw 36/10 | Cagliari 52/10
Fiorentina’s faint Champions League hopes were all but extinguished as Mounir Obbadi secured a late 1-0 win for Hellas Verona at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Monday. Back-to-back defeats have seen Fiorentina drop from 4th to 6th on the table. The Viola, who remain nine points behind third-placed Roma having played their game in hand, controlled much of the match but failed to create enough chances, with Alessandro Diamanti’s missed penalty in the second half proving crucial. Cagliari are next up. The relegation bound club look certain to go down after their 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Napoli. Cagliari have lost seven of their last eight games and have managed just four wins from 31 league games. Despite Fiorentina’s poor form of late, they should come back strong and claim the victory. However, there isn’t much value there and with both sides struggling to score goals in recent weeks, under 2.5 goals looks well worth a punt at 29/20.
Napoli 9/20 | Draw 7/2 | Sampdoria 11/2
Napoli closed to within five points of Roma and Lazio and a Champions League place after cruising to a comfortable 3-0 Serie A victory at Cagliari. The win was their second in as many weeks and sees Rafael Benitez’s men pull three points clear of fifth-placed Sampdoria. Their opponents were held to an unlikely goalless draw by Cesena on Saturday. Ambitious Samdoria dominated their relegation-threatened opponents from start to finish but found goalkeeper Federico Agliardi to be unbeatable. Sampdoria are winless in their last three matches. Back Napoli to win + Both Teams To Score at 19/10.
Written by Vuvuzela
Vuvu’s Serie A Picks
AC Milan WIN27/20
Inter Milan BTTS15/20
Atalanta WIN27/20
Genoa WIN6/10
Hellas Verona WIN12/10
Lazio WIN4/10
Parma DRAW24/10
Juventus WIN19/20
Fiorentina UNDER 2.5 GOALS 29/20
Napoli WIN + BTTS 19/10
