Udinese v Sampdoria Match Preview and Betting Tips
February 5th 2011, 5.00pm GMT
Udinese were heavy favourites to beat Bologna in Udine on Wednesday, but they were forced to come from behind to salvage a point. Meanwhile, on the west coast of northern Italy, Sampdoria turned in another flat performance while their fans protested.
Wednesday’s defeat to Cagliari was Sampdoria’s third defeat in a row, and it saw them slide to twelfth place in Serie A. Of their six games in 2011, they have scored in only one – a 2-1 win over Roma, also their only win of this year – which explains why their fans are unhappy about the loss of their most potent attackers Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini.
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| Federico Macheda - yet to score his first Serie A goal for Sampdoria |
Udinese, on the other hand, are unbeaten in 2011, and they are not expected to show much sympathy to their struggling visitors tomorrow. Alexis Sanchez will return from suspension to partner Antonio Di Natale up front for the Bianconeri.
Udinese lie four points behind the Champions League qualifying places, and they are likely to further their claim for qualification against a Sampdoria side in turmoil.
Prediction - Udinese to win - 4pts
Match odds: Udinese 4/6
Draw 5/2
Sampdoria 4/1
Udinese: Last 5 Serie A Results
02.02.2011 – Udinese 1-1 Bologna
30.01.2011 – Juventus 1-2 Udinese
23.01.2011 – Udinese 3-1 Inter
16.01.2011 – Genoa 2-4 Udniese
09.01.2011 – AC Milan 4-4 Udinese
Sampdoria: Last 5 Serie A Results
02.02.2011 – Sampdoria 0-1 Cagliari
30.01.2011 – Napoli 4-0 Sampdoria
23.01.2011 – Sampdoria 0-0 Juventus
16.01.2011 – Lazio 1-0 Sampdoria
09.01.2011 – Sampdoria 2-1 Roma
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Bologna v Catania Match Preview and Betting Tips
February 6th 2011, 11.30am GMT (live on ESPN)
Both of these teams’ main aim for the season will have been to avoid relegation, a fate which may yet await either or both of them.
Catania secured a valuable point in a game against fellow relegation candidates Cesena on Wednesday. This was only the fourth away point they have won in a season where they have failed to win on the road.
Bologna have made a credible start to 2011, their only defeat coming against a resurgent Inter. They were convincing winners over Lazio in their last home fixture, and they also picked up an unexpected point at Udinese last time out.
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| Di Vaio: "Who are you calling old?" |
The Rossoblu boast one of the top three scorers in the league – the excellent Marco Di Vaio, who netted his fourteenth of the season against Udinese. Like Udinese’s Antonio Di Natale, Di Vaio is in his thirties, but they are both currently out-scoring all other Serie A strikers with the exception of Napoli’s 23-year-old Edison Cavani.
Bologna will hope to ease closer to safety by claiming all three points on Sunday, and considering the Sicilians’ poor away form I expect them to do so.
Prediction - Bologna to win - 3pts
Match odds: Bologna 11/10
Draw 11/5
Catania 12/5
Bologna: Last 5 Serie A Results
02.02.2011 – Udinese 1-1 Bologna
23.01.2011 – Bologna 3-1 Lazio
15.01.2011 – Inter 4-1 Bologna
09.01.2011 – Bari 0-2 Bologna
06.01.2011 – Bologna 1-1 Fiorentina
Catania: Last 5 Serie A Results
02.02.2011 – Cesena 1-1 Catania
29.01.2011 – Catania 0-2 AC Milan
22.01.2011 – Parma 2-0 Catania
16.01.2011 – Catania 1-1 Chievo
09.01.2011 – Catania 1-2 Inter
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Genoa v AC Milan Match Preview and Betting Tips
February 6th 2011, 2.00pm GMT (live on ESPN)
League leaders AC Milan were held to a scoreless draw at the San Siro on Tuesday, but still managed to extend their lead at the top due to Napoli’s surprise defeat at Chievo. This was only the third game this season in which Milan failed to score.
Genoa have had no such difficulty in failing to score – with just 18 goals all season, they are one of the lowest-scoring teams in Serie A. They have compensated for this with one of the best defensive records however, and it will be interesting to see how their defenders fare against Milan’s high-scoring attacking players. The last time these sides faced one another was in September, when Ibrahimović scored the only goal of the game.
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| Zlatan - will he again prove to be the difference between the sides? |
The Rossoneri are still missing Nesta, Boateng, Seedorf, Inzaghi, Gattuso and Ambrossini through injury, and they will be hoping to avoid further casualties ahead of their Champions League knock-out tie against Tottenham.
They will also be keen to maintain the gap between themselves and Napoli in Serie A however, and they will have noticed city rivals Inter breaking into the top three for the first time this season with a 3-0 win over Bari yesterday. Genoa’s record at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris has been poor this term with just four wins from eleven league encounters, and this record is unlikely to improve on Sunday.
Prediction - AC Milan to win - 3pts
Match odds: Genoa 11/4
Draw 9/4
AC Milan evens
Genoa: Last 5 Serie A Results
02.02.2011 – Fiorentina 1-0 Genoa
30.01.2011 – Genoa 3-1 Parma
23.01.2011 – Chievo 0-0 Genoa
16.01.2011 – Genoa 2-4 Udinese
09.01.2011 – Cesena 0-0 Genoa
AC Milan: Last 5 Serie A Results
01.02.2011 – AC Milan 0-0 Lazio
29.01.2011 – Catania 0-2 AC Milan
23.01.2011 – AC Milan 2-0 Cesena
16.01.2011 – Lecce 1-1 AC Milan
09.01.2011 – AC Milan 4-4 Udinese
Good luck!
