Inter Milan tightened their grip to the top of the table when they defeated Juventus and stretched the gap to four points, they face a difficult task ahead of them of defeating Roma at home in their next match and it will be interesting to see if they can extend their winning run to five matches. Bottom rooted Salernitana ended their five-match losing streak when they held Torino to a 0-0 draw. Up next they face the struggling Empoli who are five points above them. Both teams are desperate for points and expected to go all out for a win in their effort to escape relegation.
Friday, February 9
14/10 US Salernitana | Draw 9/4 | Empoli 37/20
Salernitana who are rooted at the bottom of the log have been experiencing all sort of problems this season having lost 14 out of 23 of their opening league matches. They are heading to this match at the back of a goalless draw against Torino and will be looking to build from it and get into the winning lane.
Empoli on the other hand are second from the bottom and are separated by five points with Salernitana. They will be aiming to extend their unbeaten run to four consecutive matches having demolished Monza 3-0 which was followed by a 1-1 draw against Juventus and a 0-0 draw against Genoa in their last match. Both teams are evenly matched, a draw will be the outcome of this match.
Saturday, February 10
26/10 Cagliari | Draw 9/4 | Lazio 21/20
Buoyed by a 4-0 defeat at the hands of AS Roma, Cagliari are now on a three-match losing streak. They face a monumental task of defeating Lazio to turn things around and escape the axe.
Things have not going well for Lazio they have not been able to secure a win in their past three matches, they have lost two and played a goalless draw against Napoli. This is a must-win match for them to be able to build confidence ahead of their UEFA Champions League clash against Bayern Munich. Lazio to win.
11/4 Roma | Draw 47/20 | Inter Milan 19/20
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43/20 Sassuolo | Draw 23/10 | Torino 12/10
This have not been going well for Alessio Dionisi’s side lately, they are coming to this match buoyed by three back-to-back defeats. They have the second highest number of defeats tied with Verona and Empoli at 13 losses and are led by Salernitana who have succumbed to 14 since the season began. They face an uphill battle of beating Torino who are on a four-league match unbeaten run.
Meanwhile II Toro have had a good start to the year, they have gone four matches without a loss, and they are coming to this match as the stronger side having collected 32 points which has positioned them 10th on the log. Back Torino to win.
Sunday, February 11
5/10 Fiorentina | Draw 33/10 | Frosinone
Fiorentina will be looking to redeem themselves at the expense of Frosinone having been outplayed by Lecce in their recent match which ended 3-2 in favour of Lecce. These results extended their winless run to four matches and dropped them to the 9th position on the log.
Frosinone’s 3-2 loss against AC Milan took them to 12 league defeats this season, they have recorded 6 wins and the other 5 matches ended in stalemates. They have conceded the highest number of goals (44) this season and scored 31. Eusebio Di Francesco needs to attend to his backline and solidify it to be able to avoid relegation. My money is on Fiorentina.
7/10 Bologna | Draw 5/2 | Lecce 39/10
Having dispatched Sassuolo 4-2 in their recent match, Bologna are going into this match brimming with confidence and sitting comfortable at position 5. A win in this clash will see them retaining their spot in the top 5.
Lecce recently ended a six-match winless run when they defeated Fiorentina 3-2 in a highly contested match. Prior to the win, they lost five out of six of their leagues matches with one ending in a tie. This means that they collected one out of eighteen points and are sitting too close to the relegation zone. They face a difficult task ahead of them as Bologna has proven to be a team that is difficult to beat. Bet on Bologna to win.
1/1 Monza | Draw 23/10 | Hellas Verona 26/10
Monza seems to be getting back on track after suffering two consecutive losses, they have managed to avoid defeat in their last two matches. They were victorious against Sassuolo and played a goalless draw when they met Udinese this past Saturday. It’ll be interesting to see if they can avoid another defeat.
Verona have failed to record a victory in their last three matches which has dropped them closer to the relegation zone. They last recorded a win against Empoli on 13 January. This is a must-win match for them to clear away from the relegation zone. Monza to edge out Verona
24/10 Genoa | Draw 23/10 | Atalanta 11/10
Genoa’s eight-match unbeaten run will be on the line when they clash against the high-flying Atalanta. Il Grifone defence will have their hands full as Atalanta has been one of the highest scoring teams this season with 40 goals in 22 league matches.
La Dea on the other hand will be looking to extend their winning run to six matches in all competitions. They are heading to this match at the back of a 3-1 against Lazio. They are undeniable the stronger side in this clash, but it would be a big mistake to overlook Genoa as they have proven to bring out their best performance when they are up against Serie A giants. They held the log leaders Inter Milan to a 1-1 draw. Atalanta to win.
19/20 AC Milan | Draw 26/10 | Napoli 26/10
Milan recently came out victorious against Frosinone beating them 3-2 with Olivier Giroud nettong the opener in the 17th minute and also providing an assist. Stefano Pioli’s men will be looking to build from this win in their effort to close the eight points gap between them and their rivals Inter who are currently topping the table with 57 points. Their last clash ended in a 2-2 standoff.
The defending champions seem to have lost their last season’s spark where they finished first with 94 points having recorded only four league losses. However, they have succumbed to 7 league losses since the season started and the chances of them defending their title are slight. Their number one striker Victor Osimhen is not expected to be part of this match as he is currently on international duties with Nigeria who have made it to the semi-finals of the African Cup of Nations. My money is on Milan to win.
Monday, 12 February
4/10 Juventus | Draw 7/2 | Udinese 13/2
Second-place Juventus who had their campaign derailed by Inter when they went down 1-0 this past Sunday will be out for redemption when they face Udinese. They are now four points behind the log leaders and are expected to come out strong in this clash to be able to stay in the title race.
Udinese have been experiencing all sort of problems this season having failed to record a victory in their five matches. They face a daunting task of defeating Juventus in their own backyard. Relegation is looming for Gabriele Cioffi’s side as they are currently 16th on the log. They are desperate to turn things around. They have recorded the lowest number of victories (2) and the highest number of draws (13) this season. Victory for Juventus.
Written by @siphesihlesoni