Parma v Lazio Match Preview and Betting Tips

Saturday 31st Match 2012, 7.45pm GMT (live on ESPN)

Lazio’s target with just nine league games remaining is simple: to retain third place and to qualify for next season’s Champions League. They were handed a huge boost last weekend when both Napoli and Udinese dropped points, giving the Romans a three point advantage over their closest competitors.

Captain Tommaso Rocchi will lead the line for Lazio tomorrow

This weekend represents another opportunity for Edy Reja’s men to tighten their grip on third place: Napoli – who face Lazio next week – travel to Turin to take on unbeaten Juventus, while Udinese – who are less efficient on the road than Lazio – travel to Siena. Reja's injury list isn’t quite as long as usual (the recent return of Rocchi, Mauri and Brocchi is a huge boost in the race for third place), but it does contain the name of top scorer Miroslav Klose, who is expected to miss at least the next two weeks with a thigh injury. Senad Lulic is also injured, as is defender Marius Stankevicius. Parma midfielder McDonald Mariga and striker Raffaele Palladino have also been sidelined by injuries.

Parma have managed just two wins since coach Roberto Donadoni took over in January, though most of their games in 2012 have ended as draws. Will we see another draw tomorrow? Possibly, but Lazio possess far more talent in their ranks than the Crociati (even without Klose and Lulic), and if sufficiently motivated the visitors should earn all three points. This is a risky call, as Sebastian Giovinco and former Lazio striker Sergio Floccari are bound to pose problems for the Biancoceleste defenders, but I think the odds on offer for a Lazio win make a small wager worthwhile.

Prediction – Lazio to win – 4 pts

Match odds:   Parma            6/4    

                    Draw            21/10 

                    Lazio             9/5

Serie A - round 29 results

Atalanta         2-0       Bologna      

Cesena          2-2       Parma        

Chievo           1-1       Siena

Genoa           2-2       Fiorentina   

Juventus        2-0       Inter

Lazio             1-0       Cagliari       

Napoli            2-2       Catania      

Novara          0-0       Lecce         

AC Milan        2-1       Roma         

Palermo         1-1       Udinese

Palermo v Udinese Match Preview and Betting Tips

Saturday 24th March 2012, 7.45pm GMT (live on ESPN)

When these two met at the Stadio Renzo Barbera last season, the 7-0 result was Palermo’s biggest home defeat in Serie A and Udinese’s biggest away win. At the time Udinese were on their way to an unexpected fourth place finish, which qualified them for a Champions League play-off. They have shown less consistency this season, but are still just a point short of third place due to the fact that Lazio have been equally inconsistent of late. Last week Udinese threw away a 2-0 home lead in the last ten minutes against Napoli, an eventuality which would have been hard to imagine last season.

Considering the fact that their home record is the second best in Serie A (Udinese is the only club with a superior home record), Palermo should also be battling for a European place instead of trailing Udinese by 12 points. However their away form is awful, and they have managed to earn just a point from their last four games. Coach Bortolo Mutti’s future looks precarious - so much so that former Real Madrid defender Christian Panucci has apparently indicated that he will take charge of the Sicilian club when the season finishes.

Munoz earned a point for Palermo last week, but will miss the game tomorrow

Udinese’s defensive options will be limited tomorrow as Mauricio Isla and Mehdi Benatia are injured, while Maurizio Domizzi is suspended. Forwards Antonio Floro Flores and Diego Fabbrini are also suspended, though midfielder Dusan Basta is expected to return from injury. Ezequiel Muñoz and Matias Silvestre will be missing from the Palermo defence, through suspension and injury respectively, while midfielders Nicolas Bertolo and Giulio Migliaccio are also unavailable.

The result of this game is a tricky one to call considering the erratic nature of both teams, though it is worth noting that Palermo have not drawn at home so far this season. While Udinese have won just two of their last twelve league games on the road, they have won all of their last four games against Palermo. The visitors have scored 16 goals in these four games, and I think the absences from both teams' defensive line-ups should lead to more goals in an open game.

Prediction - over 2.5 goals - 5pts

Match odds:            Palermo                            6/4

                             Draw                                9/4

                             Udinese                            17/10

                             Over 2.5 goals                   5/6

Serie A - round 28 results

Roma            1-0       Genoa        

Bologna         2-2       Chievo       

Cagliari          3-0       Cesena       

Catania         1-0       Lazio

Inter             0-0       Atalanta     

Lecce            1-1       Palermo     

Siena            0-2       Novara       

Udinese         2-2       Napoli        

Fiorentina      0-5       Juventus     

Parma           0-2       AC Milan

Parma v AC Milan Match Preview and Betting Tips

Saturday 17th March 2012, 5pm GMT

After Napoli, Inter and Udinese bowed out this week, only AC Milan remain to fly the flag for Italy in Europe - though they will have to overcome Barcelona to make it past the quarter final stage. Their slightly less-than-comfortable 4-3 aggregate win over Arsenal in the Champions League was  followed on Sunday by a solid 2-0 league victory over Lecce.

Ibrahimovic celebrated his return from suspension with a hat-trick in Palermo

Milan’s league form since the winter break has been the stuff of champions. Despite a substantial injury list, the Rossoneri have shown consistency while their closest contenders Juventus have been faltering and dropping points. A four-point lead at this stage of the season is a valuable one, and Massimiliano Allegri will no doubt be targeting all three points tomorrow when his team visit Parma.

Parma’s form this season has been erratic as usual. They are not completely assured of safety from the relegation battle, but improved resilience in recent weeks (they have only lost two of their last ten games) has ensured that they sit six points above the danger zone in sixteenth place. Roberto Donadoni’s appointment as coach in January has obviously galvanised the Crociati team, and they have also been scoring more since the former Milan player took charge.

Ignazio Abate and Alessandro Nesta will be unavailable for Milan due to injury, and centre-half Philippe Mexes is suspended. Parma winger Raffaele Palladino is also injured.

I expect Milan to march on with another win tomorrow, but I prefer the odds on the goalscoring market to those on the win-draw-win market. The champions have been in fine goalscoring form of late – Ibrahimovic in particular has been superb (apart from his show of indiscipline against Napoli) - and Parma penetrating Milan’s defence at some stage wouldn’t surprise me either. The last time these two met it finished 4-1 to Milan, so let’s hope for more goals tomorrow!

Prediction – over 2.5 goals – 5pts

Match odds:   Parma                              4/1

                    Draw                               12/5

                    AC Milan                           7/10

                    Over 2.5 goals                  evens

Serie A - round 27 results

AC Milan        2-0       Lecce         

Atalanta        1-1       Parma        

Catania         1-0       Fiorentina   

Cesena          0-2       Siena

Genoa           0-0       Juventus     

Lazio             1-3       Bologna      

Novara          1-0       Udinese      

Palermo         0-1       Roma         

Chievo           0-2       Inter  

Napoli            6-3       Cagliari

Novara v Udinese Match Preview and Betting Tips

Sunday 11th March 2012, 7.45pm

This fixture was originally scheduled to be the early kick-off on Sunday, but it was moved to Sunday evening to allow Udinese extra time to recuperate from their Europa League first leg tie in the Netherlands on Thursday, which they lost 2-0 to AZ Alkmaar.

Udinese began the season in the Champions League as a result of their fourth-place finish last term, but they will need to finish one place higher this time around if they want to begin next season in Europe’s elite club competition (only three teams will qualify from Serie A this season). They slipped from third to fourth place last weekend, and with just twelve league games remaining they will need to collect as many points as possible in the race for Europe. No doubt this was coach Francesco Guidolin’s reason for leaving top scorer Antonio Di Natale on the bench until the 79th minute on Thursday – in fact, Guidolin has rested Di Natale for the vast majority of Udinese’s European campaign.

Introductions, Di Natale style: "Net, meet my friend, the ball"

The Bianconeri are not quite the force they were last season, mainly due to the dual departure of Gokhan Inler and Alexis Sanchez, but they still boast a lot of quality in their side. Pablo Armero is always a threat down the left-hand side, and Kwadwo Asamoah is another pacey attacker who can trouble defences and create openings when on form. Di Natale – Serie A’s top scorer for the last two seasons, and currently top of this season’s scoring chart - is a fantastic talent, and he has been complimented well this season by the return to form of fellow striker Antonio Floro Flores. Slovenian goalkeeper Samir Handanović is also a key, and often underrated, part of this Udinese team.

Novara have struggled this season upon their return to the top flight. They slumped to the bottom of the table in midweek (when Cesena picked up a point against Catania), and they have lost their last two games. In fact their only win since November was a 1-0 victory over Inter, who were gifting wins to all comers with incredible generosity at the time. Novara have averaged just one goal every two games over their last twelve matches, and really the only two things they have going for them on Sunday are home advantage and the artificial surface on which they play at the Stadio Silvio Piola. Incidentally, Attilio Tesser will be back in the Novara dugout for this fixture – the coach who brought them back to Serie A was dismissed at the end of January, but he was reinstated during the week following the sacking of his replacement Emiliano Mondonico (who held the post for 36 days - a short tenure even by Italian standards).

Udinese cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win the last time these two met, and their recent slide down to fourth place should provide sufficient motivation for them to target all three points on Sunday. I expect a tight game, but a fresh and rested Di Natale will almost certainly be too much for the Novara defenders to handle.

Prediction – Udinese to win – 6pts

Novara                    3/1 

Draw                      9/4 

Udinese                  evens

Re-fixed games from round 22 & 23 (played yesterday):

Bologna         1-1       Juventus     

Cesena          0-0       Catania      

Parma            2-2       Fiorentina   

Serie A - round 26 results

Bologna        1-0       Novara       

Fiorentina      2-0       Cesena       

Inter             2-2       Catania      

Lecce            2-2       Genoa        

Parma           1-2       Napoli        

Roma            1-2       Lazio

Siena            3-3       Cagliari       

Udinese         0-0       Atalanta     

Juventus       1-1       Chievo       

Palermo         0-4       AC Milan

Lecce v Genoa Match Preview and Betting Tips

Sunday 4th March 2012, 2pm GMT


A lot of observers have felt that Lecce’s consistently low league position this season has been misleading considering the quality in their squad, and coach Serse Cosmi has proven this to be the case since he took charge. Sixteen points from a possible twenty-four in their last eight games indicates that Lecce carry the form going into tomorrow’s clash with Genoa.

Lecce's Juan Cuadrado, who scored for Columbia in their midweek win over Mexico

Recent results such as an away victory in Cagliari and a home win over Inter have opened a few eyes and lifted the Apulia side to within two points of an escape from the relegation zone. Players such as top scorer David Di Michele and on-loan midfielder Juan Cuadrado have been key for Lecce of late, and they are likely to pose problems for Genoa’s fragile defence tomorrow.

Genoa themselves are without a win in four games, but at least they managed to end a three-game goalless run last week when they drew 2-2 with Parma. It was Rodrigo Palacio who salvaged a point for the Grifoni with a late equaliser, and they will be relying on their top scorer to provide the goals again tomorrow considering the fact that Alberto Gilardino will not make his return from injury as had been expected. The return from suspension of Davide Biondini and Giuseppe Sculli will help their cause however.

Genoa’s form on the road is generally poor – they have lost all of their last six away games in all competitions - and it’s hard to see them coping with Lecce’s pace of attack for 90 minutes tomorrow. The home side are unbeaten in their last four games, and I expect them to continue this good run in a game which should see a few goals.

Prediction – Lecce to win – 5 points

Match odds:            Lecce            11/10

                             Draw            11/5

                             Genoa           12/5

Serie A - round 25 results

Atalanta         4-1       Roma         

Bologna         1-3       Udinese      

Cagliari          1-2       Lecce         

Catania          3-1       Novara       

Chievo           1-0       Cesena       

Lazio             1-0       Fiorentina   

Napoli            1-0       Inter

Siena             4-1       Palermo     

AC Milan         1-1       Juventus     

Genoa            2-2       Parma