Genoa are still talking about the loss in Turin, accusing refs of conspiracy but, just like Napoli, forgetting the games they won exactly after the poor refereeing. Gasperini looks as if he had lost the compass, he cares little about his team’s play and about defense mistakes which keep repeating themselves throughout the entire season. Board members will have to understand their club will have very little chance of repeating the last season’s fifth place. Udiense are in big trouble, they are on the wrong side of the standings and they need to notch a couple of games in order to make a leap towards the middle of the standings. It won’t be easy at all more so because the team had lost their playmaker, D’Agostino.

Genoa with two back to back home wins

The only thing they will remember from those games are points as this team is without play, without a clear solution in the attack ever since Floccari, Crespo and injured Palacio are not around. Couple of more attacking players are sidelined, Acquafresca came back but his poor autumn in Bergamo is pressuring him. Suazo is not the classic striker, speed is his biggest virtue. If you add up the disastrous defense, you will see these problems are clearly the consequences of a long European season in which Gasperini didn’t rotate his players to keep them healthy and fit. This is the season from which they will have to learn lessons, players should not be brought by the chairman’s free will, but by the manager. Everything around the Grifoni is upside down, far away from the expected level. However, couple of straight wins might see Genoa grab the European seat after all.

Udinese: worst guests in the league

They are the only team without a win outside their home grounds and they have won only a couple of away points. hadn’t it been for Di Natale and couple of fortunate wins, the situations would even be worse. at this time, they are only one point above the dropping line, they lost to Milan on Friday, but they also had a friendly where De Biasi rested his key players. They will do whatever it takes to astay unbeaten at Marassi. Genoa are traditionally their tough rivals, they always have problems against Gasperini. Isla is suspended, but Basta is coming back from his injury and we will see what they can do without D’Agustino who could even end up missing the FIFA World Cup. The incredible fact is that Udinese, a team with at least nine players that should be on the World Cup, play this bad. No one understands what is going on.

Betting verdict

We will attack tradition. Marassi’s turf is terrible and although these teams usually play games filled with goals, Udinese will be defending and Genoa are not that efficient at home lately. This will be a true dog fight, the least predictable game of the round with all three signs actively involved.
…Read more

Revived and invigorated Atalanta and their new manager, Bortolo Mutti, will enter this game in Bergamo feeling optimistic. After two home wins and couple of away points under their belt, they are still one place above the rock bottom, but they still have chances as they are only four points away from the red line. Orobici are indeed playing better and they even could grab a win in Catania. however, despite they are under a lot of pressure and despite the fact they need to start winning at home, that away point will have done wonders for their spirit. Comunale will play host to out-of-form Chievo who are on a poor run with only two points in their last four games. even though they are still in the safe zone, a new loss would mark their return to the dogfight in the gutter. They have unnecessarily made it all complicated with that loss to Siena at Bentegodi and we can freely say that was one of the worst Flying Donkeys’ performances this season.

Atalanta didn’t expect to be in trouble

Despite the departures of coach Del Neri and their best goal scorer, Floccari, they were still seen as the clean mid-table team. Still, when you  start going downhill, it is very hard to stop. Signings were proven to be poor pieces of business, Greguzzi was quickly sacked, but his successor Conte wasn’t that much better. Atalanta are hoping that possible home stretch might get them out of the worst scenario, but it will be very hard to achieve. They have lost their confidence, and despite several recent fine displays, we dare not make predictions. This team proved to be incapable of dealing with pressure and the absences of suspended, Bellini and Manfredini, and Barreto, De Ascentis and Chevanton will only make the things worse. all of these absences will make the manager field two veterans, Doni and Amoruso, in the attack.

Veronesi relish these games

Cheivo are one of the few who enjoy playing away and we even think they have bigger chances in Bergamo than at Bentegodi. After the Siena game, Di Carlo has finally confessed his team was in crisis, and he added the lesson rock-bottomed team gave them will urge them to play much better in Bergamo. Winning this game would be a huge step towards the survival, draw is also acceptable, but a loss would change everything. Chievo are with six points advantage in front of the relegation contenders, but if they enter a negative run, Cheivo will be in for a tight finish. Apart from long-term injured Moro and the fringed Abrusscato, Di Carlo will have his strongest squad at his disposal. He will try to outplay the rivals in Bergamo and the ‘goal more than you’ approach did bring results against the weaker teams. last year, despite the rumors of Del Neri’s alleged favor to his former club, Cheivo managed to book a win at this stadium.

Betting verdict

We don’t think Chievo will lose, but the conspiracy theory is keeping us away from risking with this game. there are two reasons why you should go for over 2.5 goals. First of all, Atalanta’s back line is weakened an early goal might open the duel entirely for a great exciting game, and second of all, a point will not do any good to the hosts and they will have no reasons to hold back. On the other  side, Chievo’s away score is a different story. Over 2.5 goals on a low stakes….Read more

There is a lot of at stake in this duel. The win in Verona gave Siena a thread of hope, survival is still far out of the horizon, but some chance exists. They need to start winning in series as they are rock-bottomed and it won’t be easy. After a great performance in the last round, Napoli are coming to Franchi with only one point from the last game and Juventus are now breathing down their neck. That is why each point, from now on, will be good as gold. Namely ,this team has a good chance of ending the season on the fourth seat, but if they want to do it, they will need to beat minnows and hope for the best. Because of all of this, it is no wonder coach Mazzari claims they are entering this game as if they are to play Juventus and not the last teams on the standings.

Siena changed everything this year

Coach Giampaolo and the old chairman are both gone, the club changed owners and the club’s first man, Mezzaroma welcomed his first ever win with his new club. he promised hefty bonuses should Siena stay up. Siena have already missed a lot of chances to do so, their performances are a lot better than their results, just remember the Inter game at Meazza. However, they lost a number of points to similar strength teams which could prove to be crucial at the end.  They are currently with 16 points on their tally, eight less than teams from the safe zone. Because of this, it is highly unlikely Siena will succeed in staying up, but they can at least do their best trying. They will not give up, Malesani announces full attack, Brandao is out, couple of more are injured, but their main problem is not an injury or two. It is simple, this club have been selling their best players for years now bringing new, obscure players and it had to hit them back eventually.

Napoli pointing towards conspiracy

Namely, they believe the Italian Football Federation and the refs are doing whatever they can to push Juventus into the top 4. Withdrawing from the competition was suggested, but that is only pressure, nothing more. There has been a number of problematic calls, but Napoli officials seem to have forgotten how they go some of their last year’s wins, like the one against Juventus. Napoli feel they can achieve their greatest success in the last two decades by grabbing the 4th place and that is exactly why they are launching all of those inflammable statements. Mazzari will be without Lavezzi who is still recovering, Gargano is suspended and Cigarini will be given a starting berth. They hope luck won’t turn its back on them and are announcing a win in this game. if they want to get among the best, these are the games they need to be winning.

Betting verdict

We believe Napoli should win this game, they are the better side and this game could sign a ticket back to Serie B for Siena after eight years. The odds are not great, but 2.30 is enough for a risk on low stakes.
…Read more

After the defeat in Rome, Palermo are coming back to their Barbera. Rossi’s honeymoon is over as he received his first criticism from chairman Zamparini. Namely, his decision to leave Pastore out of the squad was marked as the lack of courage by the chairman. Rossi will be under a lot of pressure in this game as his former team, led by their new manager, Edi Reja, are coming to Barbera. The experienced manager who worked in Napoli and then in Croatia had a victorious debut over Parma. Romans will be able to breathe more freely now, but they still can’t relax as the new defeat would drag them in the additional relegation fight. In the seventies, Reja had a playing spell, wearing Plaermo’s kit, but as a coach, he never had much luck against his former club.

Palermo are excellent hosts

Ever since the last year’s embarrassment against Catania, they have been unbeaten at home for the entire 20 games. with Delio Rossi on the helm, Palermo haven’t lost a single point and it is obvious why they are entering this duel as complete favorites. All of those home wins weren’t exactly to performances, but solid, defense-responsible displays in defense weren’t something we used to watch a lot from them. They somehow seem serious and mature and we should jump to any conclusions on Roma defeat. Palermo had the chances of their own, but silly defense mistakes cost them a high margin loss. The aforementioned Zamparini even called his defender Bovo a clown after that game. Tedesco is Palermo’s only injured player, but he is a reserve player anyway so the team will be in its fullest which gives plenty of reason to feel optimistic.

Zarate gets back in action

Reja’s decision to leave, by many people, Romans’ best player on the bench has left Zarate disgruntled and his agent stated that if his man was not needed, then he should be told on time to look for a new club in the summer. Zarate was brought on later in the game and even got his name on the score sheet, but Reja accused him of being selfish, and of not running enough and added Zarate will need to change his habits. Despite all of that, Zarate will be given a starting berth as Rocchi will be on the bench. With another positive result, Lazio could make a step towards the safety. They have no other obligations apart from the home league, having been eliminated from all other competitions they will be able to fully focus on the games ahead of them. This is nightmare of the season for Lazio, this is not the team capable of doing some great things, but on the other hand, no one hoped they would get among the worst underachievers in the league. They have a lengthy injury list with Matuzalem, Meghn, Foggia and Cruz only some of the names on it. Midfield will be their main problem but Reja will not abandon his favorite 3-5-2 formation. Over the past few years, Lazio had a partial success at Palermo’s grounds.

Betting verdict

The odds around 2.00 are pretty good and we will go for a home win here. First of all, Palermo are playing with a complete squad, second of all, they are a lot better than the Romans, and third of all, they have already managed to beat some pretty bigger fish at home. Due to all of this, we can’t imagine Lazio being a worthy match to the hosts, Rossi knows all of his former team’s good (if any) and bad sides and we see this game as the Serie A’s bet of the weekend.
…Read more

Despite Siena fans’ envy, the game between Viola and Amaranti holds a bigger rivalry and is rightfully considerer a derby of the Tuscany. Ever since Livorno have come back to the Serie A, these games are always more than just football. As both sides are on a poor run, this duel bears a bigger significance and three points will mean a lot for both clubs. After only one point in the last five games, we even saw some banners on the stands spreading the message against the coach Prandelli which was unbelievable until only couple of days. Still, the board officials stood behind their manager showing their full support to the man. After several good results, Livorno are once again in the relegation zone even though there is still time for them to make it all right.

Fiorentina with a Wednesday Champions League duel

And to be honest we were very surprised by the way how they played that game as they still have an active and open result despite the 2:1 loss. The ref ripped them off, they had plenty of things to say to Overbo the same ref who marked the last year’s Champions League duel between Barca and Chelsea.  However, encouraged by the good performance Fiorentina proved to be on their way out of the crisis. They have been winless for a long time, a lot of points were lost at home and this is a must win situation for them. Last time when fans at Franchi had something to be pleased with was on 10th, January when their Viola came back from behind to secure a win over Lazio. Apart from the suspended Mutu, Prandelli will be without the Denmark’s Kroldrup, Zanetti, Montolivo, Santana and Gamberini. Young forces will take the hot starting grid in a must win game.

Livorno suffered a huge Bologna blow

They have lost the game only seven days after they had stopped Juventus. However, the points against the direct rivals are always more important and all they can do is rue the defeat sitting in the relegation zone. Cosmi earned his suspension due to the harsh protesting, but it won’t keep him off the bench in Fiorentina game. his team played a fairly good game and they didn’t deserve to lose. They are about to enter a difficult run full of hard games and huge challenges. Still, we shouldn’t forget Livorno are ones who beat Roma away and they will have similar ambitions at Franchi too. They like to play deep defense game since back line is their stronger part. For what is worth, apart from Miglionico, Cosmi will have the full crop of players to choose from. Livorno had their share of home wins over Fiorentina, but ever since they came to the elite in 2004, they have managed to endure only one game at Franchi.

Betting verdict

Fiorentina are favorites to win this one, but the odds are simply too small. They have a lot of injured midfielders, Champions League exhausting duel against Bayern will have taken its toll and we dare not advise you to risk. We think it would be better to go for under 2.5 goals. We are in for a careful, cautious approach by both managers and we also have tradition on our side. Namely whenever these two temas meet we always see an extremely low count of  goals. This autumn, Fiorentina managed to secure a 1:0 win at Franchi.

…Read more