Serie A – week 25 round-up

This weekend was a good one for this year’s Serie A title hopefuls, but not so good for the two sides who pushed each other all the way last season.

Leaders AC Milan strolled to a 4-0 home win over Parma yesterday, their goals coming from Cassano, Seedorf and Robinho who scored twice. This will serve as a welcome confidence boost for the Rossoneri ahead of their Champions League tie against Tottenham on Tuesday.

Roma effectively limped out of this season’s title race and lost their unbeaten home record thanks to a toothless performance against second-placed Napoli. Serie A top scorer Edinson Cavani added two more goals to his tally as his side kept the pressure on Milan with a 2-0 win.

Lazio returned to third place by returning to winning ways at Brescia. Álvaro González opened the scoring with his first goal for the Biancoceleste, and Libor Kozák ended the game as a contest by netting the second. This was a clash between two coaches who could also earn a living as celebrity lookalikes, and it was Mickey Goldmill of “Rocky” fame (Edy Reja) who outsmarted Elmer Fudd (Giuseppe Iachini) on the day.

Juventus’ new signing Alessandro Matri was the difference between the sides in the derby d’Italia in Turin. His 30th minute header ensured a 1-0 win for the Old Lady, and dealt a damaging blow to Inter’s hopes of retaining their league title.

Udinese’s European ambitions continued to look credible this week as they visited Cesena and left with all three points. Double-act Di Natale and Sanchez both found the net once again, while Inler also scored during this 3-0 win for the Bianconeri.

Sampdoria ended a poor run of form and eased the pressure on their coach Domenico Di Carlo by beating Bologna 3-1. At the Stadio Renzo Barbera, Palermo led twice at but eventually lost 4-2 in what was Fiorentina’s first away win of the season.

Bari ended a six-game losing run in their first game under new coach Bortolo Mutti, but they failed to score in a stalemate against Genoa. Cagliari put four past Chievo in Sardinia before Thereau netted a consolation goal for the Mussi Volanti. Finally, Catania recorded their first win of 2011 by beating Lecce 3-2 at the Stadio Sant’Elia.

We return on Tuesday when we will preview two of the fixtures in the first knockout phase of this season’s Champions League.

Til then…

                   

Serie A: week 25 results

Palermo       2-4      Fiorentina          

Bari             0-0      Genoa      

Brescia        0-2      Lazio                

Cagliari        4-1      Chievo           

Catania        3-2     Lecce       

Cesena        0-3      Udinese            

Sampdoria    3-1      Bologna            

Juventus      1-0      Inter

AC Milan      4-0      Parma              

Roma          0-2      Napoli

Roma v Napoli Match Preview and Betting Tips

February 12th 2011, 7.45pm GMT (live on ESPN)

Marek Hamsik's hairstyle displays a healthy sense of humour

Roma’s last game was an exciting eight-goal thriller at the San Siro which saw the Giallorossi finish with two goals and one player less than their opponents Inter. However they were always in the game until Nicolas Burdisso conceded a penalty and earned himself a red card by fouling Giampaolo Pazzini in the 61st minute.

Napoli have had a good 2011 so far, and therefore they have maintained their pressure on AC Milan at the top of Serie A. Their league position has surprised everyone, but with 14 games left to play Walter Mazzari is advising his charges not to get carried away: “I am realistic. I continue to believe that the Scudetto is a battle between the usual teams: Milan, Inter, Juventus and Roma.”

Roma are the only team in Serie A with an unbeaten home record this season, and they will be eager to reduce the seven-point gap between themselves and their opponents tomorrow. Francesco Totti returns after a bout of the flu, but defenders Burdisso and Philippe Mexes are both suspended.

Napoli’s last away game was a 2-0 defeat at Chievo, and I expect Roma to put another dent in their title ambitions tomorrow at the Stadio Olimpico.

Prediction – Roma to win – 3pts

Match odds:       Roma             11/10

                        Draw             21/10

                        Napoli            5/2

                                      

Roma: Last 5 Serie A Results

06.02.2011 – Inter 5-3 Roma

02.02.2011 – Roma 1-1 Brescia

22.01.2011 – Roma 3-0 Cagliari

16.01.2011 – Cesena 0-1 Roma

09.01.2011 – Sampdoria 2-1 Roma

Napoli: Last 5 Serie A Results

06.02.2011 – Napoli 2-0 Cesena

02.02.2011 – Chievo 2-0 Napoli

30.01.2011 – Napoli 4-0 Sampdoria

23.01.2011 – Bari 0-2 Napoli

15.01.2011 – Napoli 0-0 Fiorentina

Bari v Genoa Match Preview and Betting Tips

February 13th 2011, 2.00pm GMT 

Ventura was not an ace at Bari

Last week’s 2-0 defeat at Brescia was Bari’s sixth loss in a row, and it turned out to be coach Giampiero Ventura’s last chance to turn their fortunes around. Bari have since replaced Ventura with 56-year-old Bortolo Mutti, who has previously coached Napoli, Atalanta, Reggina and Messina.

Genoa make the journey south on Sunday having held league leaders AC Milan to a 1-1 draw last time out. They have hardly been setting the world alight however, with just one win from their last eight games. Their last win on the road was at Lecce in early December, and they have failed to score in their three away games since then.

Bari have won just once in their last nineteen games, but I believe that a lack of confidence has been their main problem. The appointment of a new coach always seems to boost a team’s spirits, and Mutti will need to be an instant success if he is to save Bari from relegation.

Bari have won three of their last four Serie A encounters with Genoa at the Stadio San Nicola, and I believe they are worth backing at 6/5 in the “draw no bet” market.

Prediction – Bari (draw no bet) – 3pts

Match odds:       Bari                          11/5

                        Draw                         2/1

                        Genoa                     13/10

                        Bari (draw no bet)       6/5

Bari: Last 5 Serie A Results

06.02.2011 – Brescia 2-0 Bari

03.02.2011 – Bari 0-3 Inter

30.01.2011 – Cagliari 2-1 Bari

23.01.2011 – Bari 0-2 Napoli

16.01.2011 – Juventus 2-1 Bari

Genoa: Last 5 Serie A Results

06.02.2011 – Genoa 1-1 AC Milan

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

Juventus v Inter Match Preview and Betting Tips

February 13th 2011, 7.45pm GMT (live on ESPN)

A resurgent Inter put five past Roma last Sunday and recorded another win under Leonardo. The defending champions have won all but one since their new coach took charge, and they sit just five points behind rivals AC Milan with a game in hand.

Everybody at Inter wants to be Leonardo's friend

Leonardo and his players travel to Turin on Sunday evening to take on a Juventus side which followed back-to-back defeats by securing a crucial win over Cagliari last week. Juve are currently six points behind Inter, and they will also have been encouraged by the fact that new signings Matri and Toni contributed their three goals last week. Finishing had been a problem for the Turin side of late – in fact, they scored more against Cagliari than they did in their three games prior to that.

So who will emerge victorious from the derby d’Italia? This, in my view, is a clash between a team on the rise and a team whose form has dipped. Fabio Grosso and Filipe Melo have recently been disappointing for Juve, Gianluigi Buffon has looked unconfident since his return from injury, and Miloš Krasić simply appears tired.

Inter have recently added some quality players in Giampaolo Pazzini, Yuto Nagatomo and Andrea Rannochia, while the likes of Sneijder, Eto’o, Zanetti, Cambiasso and Maicon have been performing to their potential once again since the departure of Rafa Benitez. Expect the Leonardo revival to continue in Turin on Sunday.

Prediction – Inter to win – 4pts

Match odds:       Juventus            2/1

                        Draw                 2/1

                        Inter                 7/5

Juventus: Last 5 Serie A Results

05.02.2011 – Cagliari 1-3 Juventus

02.02.2011 – Palermo 2-1 Juventus

30.01.2011 – Juventus 1-2 Udinese

23.01.2011 – Sampdoria 0-0 Juventus

16.01.2011 – Juventus 2-1 Bari

Inter: Last 5 Serie A Results

06.02.2011 – Inter 5-3 Roma

03.02.2011 – Bari 0-3 Inter

30.01.2011 – Inter 3-2 Palermo

23.01.2011 – Udinese 3-1 Inter

19.01.2011 – Inter 3-2 Cesena

Serie A – week 24 round-up

The battle for this season’s Scudetto became more interesting this weekend. AC Milan’s lead at the top of the table was cut to three points as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Genoa, while second-placed Napoli recorded a routine 2-0 win over Cesena.

Inter emerged triumphant from an exciting encounter with Roma at the San Siro last night. Their 5-3 win moved them to third place, and the current Serie A champions are now just five points behind their Milan rivals with a game in hand.

A 1-1 draw with Chievo saw fourth-placed Lazio drop two points at home, while Palermo moved up to fifth in the table by coming from behind to beat Lecce 4-2.

Matri returned to Cagliari on Saturday to haunt his old club

Sixth-placed Udinese’s 2-0 win over Sampdoria was their fifth win in seven games, and it was also Sampdoria’s fifth defeat in seven. Another team who have struggled recently is Juventus, but they returned to winning ways at Cagliari thanks to goals from January signings Luca Toni and former Cagliari striker Alessandro Matri.

Bologna and Brescia both picked up valuable home wins, while Fiorentina canceled out a goal from loan signing Amauri to draw 1-1 with Parma. 

The focus turns to international football this week, but Serie A returns at the weekend, and our match previews and tips will be online on Friday as usual. 
Til then…

Serie A: week 24 results

Bologna      1-0     Catania     

Brescia       2-0     Bari  

Genoa        1-1     AC Milan   

Inter          5-3     Roma       

Lazio         1-1     Chievo      

Lecce        2-4     Palermo    

Napoli        2-0     Cesena     

Parma        1-1     Fiorentina            

Cagliari      1-3     Juventus

Udinese      2-0     Sampdoria