Much like the other major leagues in Europe the Serie A is relatively quiet in terms of transfer news. Only one big story this week, the ongoing saga of Carlos Tevez. After talks with Manchester City and AC Milan crumbled last week, Inter are now favourites to sign the Argentine. Tuesday saw a £20 bid from Inter which Man City are currently mulling over. It remains anyones guess if negotiations will be successful, even Inter manager Claudio Raneri seemed non fussed.by talk of Tevez's arrival stating "You never know, do we really need him?".
In Raneri's defence his team may not need Tevez. Last weekend saw them win the Milan derby 1-0 with Diego Milito capitalising on a defensive error. Inter have now won their last six games and look to have left their dreadful start to the season well behind them. Sunday evening sees Raneri's men host Lazio who themselves are on a decent run of form winning 2 of their last 3 after beating Atlanta in the Stadio Olimpico last Saturday. This promises to be be a very close game but it would take a brave man to bet against Inter in their current vein.
The first game of the weekend sees Roma host Cesena on Saturday evening. Roma's game at Catania last Saturday was abandoned in the second half after torrential rain hit Sicily. Putting a line through the abandoned game Roma had won their last three Serie A matches and should have too much class for third from bottom Cesena. Cesena did get a vital three points at home against bottom team, Novara last weekend. That said it was only their forth win of the season and they have only won once away from home all season. Roma remain without Osvaldo but Francesco Totti's form has improved and he, Bojan and Eric Lamela are certain to cause problems for Cesena's defence. Home win.
The only other match on Saturday concerns fifteenth placed Atlanta and unbeaten leaders Juventus. Atlanta have lost their last two but will take heart from Juventus' 1-1 draw with Cagliari last weekend. Juventus were frustrated by Cagliari but ultimately wasteful. It is unlikely they will make the same mistakes again. The old lady is set to remain unbeaten and lengthen their lead at the top of the table.
Sunday sees the usual host of games beginning with Bologna hosting Parma. Bologna currently sit in sixteenth as they continue to be one of the most inconsistent teams in the league. They did however hold Napoli to a 1-1 draw on Monday evening and if reproducing that they will beat Parma who took their first 3 points in 5 games last weekend, beating Siena 3-1. That though was at home, in the Stadio Ennio Tardini where Parma have picked up the majority of their points, they have only won once away from home all season.
A mid table clash sees Cagliari take on Fiorentina. Cagliari will be full of confidence after holding Juventus whereas Fiorentina are in free fall. Last weeks one nil home defeat to second bottom Leece meant that Fiorentina have only won two of their last six. The Viola could bounce back but a hard fought draw is a likely result.
Leece will look to build on their win over Fiorentina when they face Chievo. Chievo sit solid in ninth and are in good form winning 3 of their last 5 including last weekends 1-0 win over Palermo. Despite Leece's great win in Florence the stats still point to a Chievo victory with Leece still having not won at home all season.
Siena will look to move away from the releagation zone as they host Napoli. Siena have only won one of their last nine league games, that win came two weeks ago in a 4-0 win over Lazio in one of the most surprising results of the season so far. However the Tuscans could not back it up losing 3-1 away to Parma last weekend. Sixth place Napoli however have only lost once in nine games and are sure to test the Siena defence with the likes of Cavani and Hamsik. Another tricky puzzle to solve but Napoli should have the edge.
Udinese will look to continue their push for the top spot when they host Catania. Udinese were beaten 3-2 by away in Genoa last weekend, however they remain unbeaten at home and have taken more points at home than any other team in the division. Catania have only won once in their last 5 league games and remain tenth in the table. Antonio Di Natale is the highest scoring player in Serie A at the moment and the likes of him and strike partner Floro Flores in good form Udinese should be able to maintain their unbeaten home record.
Eighth place Genoa travel to Palermo looking to build on their win over Udinese and push for a Europa League spot. Another loss for Palermo last weekend means that boss Bortolo Mutti has become favourite for the next Serie A manager to lose his job. Mutti has only been in charge for six games but has side have only picked up two points in that time. Omens look good for Mutti though, Genoa do not travel well losing 4 of their last five. A valuable point for Mutti and his men could well be the most likely outcome.
An interesting contest ends this round of games as AC Milan travel to Novara. The two met in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday with Milan edging out 2-1 winners in the San Siro. In the league however the two teams could not be futher apart. Despite losing the derby last weekend Milan remain in second and have the best attack in the league scoring 37 goals this season. Novara remain routed to the bottom of the table and have the worst defence in the league conceeding 35 goals. Alexandre Pato is out for Milan along with Kevin Prince Boateng. Despite having these two key men missing the class of the Rossoneri is sure to be too strong for Novara and they can get their title charge back on track here.
Selected Match Bettting:
Roma, Juventus, Napoli, Chievo, Udinese & AC Milan all to win - 32/1
Novara V AC Milan - AC Milan win 4-0 - 16/1
Roma V Cesena - Eric Lamela to Score First - 7/1
Enjoy The Games!
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