Transfer news first, and with not long left in the January window we are beginning to see a few deals being finalised. We start again with Carlos Tevez. Inter have now given up on signing the Manchester City forward and in a total U-turn AC Milan are again in negotiations with City. Milan have are looking at Tevez as their main target however if a deal cannot be done they will almost certainly sign Catania stiker Maxi Lopez. Inter centre back Thiago Motta looks destined to move to big spending Paris Saint Germain after his agent told the media his client wished to leave. The next and final week of the transfer window is sure to bring about more deals and I will attempt to give you a breakdown of all the moves in next weeks blog.
This weekends action starts as usual on Saturday evening as Catania host Parma. Both sides sit in mid table occupying 13th and 12th respectively. However both are on poor runs of form with Catania winning just once in their last five and after losing 2-1 to Udinese last weekend have lost two on the bounce. Parma too have only managed one win in their last 5 and could only manage a 0-0 with Bologna last week. The last time the two met in the league, just before Christmas it ended 3-3 and expect more of the same, a high scoring draw.
The big match on Saturday evening sees league leaders Juventus take on Udinese at the Juventus Stadium. Udinese returned to form last weekend after suffering two defeats with a win over Catania, with the free scoring Antonio Di Natale again on the score sheet. Juventus however have had no such blip this season and remain unbeaten and after dismantling Roma 3-0 in the Coppa Italia on Tuesday the Old Lady will be in a buoyant mood. Juventus' last league game saw them beat Atlanta 2-0 making it 5 wins in 8 games. Despite being held to a 1-1 draw before Christmas in Udine Juventus remain impossible to oppose in their current vain.
Sunday's host of action begins with an early kickoff between Fiorentina and Siena. Both teams are desperate for points with Fiorentina's slide seeing them slip to 14th and without a win in 6 games. Siena remain poised above the relegation zone despite picking up a well earned point against Napoli last time out. The last time the two sides met in ended in a 0-0 stalemate its hard to rule out a similar outcome here. However both teams are capable of picking up all 3 points in what is set to be a fascinating encounter.
Roma will be looking to put their Coppa Italia defeat behind them as they face Bologna in the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday afternoon. Luis Enrique's team have been in great form winning all four of their last league games including thrashing Cesena 5-1 last weekend. Francesco Totti's two goals in that game means that he now holds the record for the most goals scored for one club in the Serie A with 211 goals. With their talisman finding his form again the gilarossi have managed to fill the hole created by Osvaldo's injury. Bologna remain just above the relegation zone despite picking up a point against Parma last weekend. Bologna are a solid outfit but with Roma having already beaten them 2-0 this season its hard to see them getting anything to help them out of trouble here, home win.
Second from bottom Leece face a very difficult task as they host Claudio Raneri's resurgent Inter side. Inter have won their last 7 in the league including the Milan derby, and beating Lazio 2-1 last weekend. Their early season form is fast becoming forgotten as they march up the table. Leece are beginning to find their feet and earned a good point against Chievo drawing 2-2 last time out. But they were beaten 4-1 in the San Siro in December and another beating could well be on the cards such is the strength of Inter's form. Inter do have to bounce back to a Coppa Italia defeat to Napoli but this is much easier assignment.
9th placed Chievo will be looking to continue their push for European football next season when they face Lazio in Verona. Despite both teams having good starts to the season they are now models of inconsistency with both teams winning four of their last eight league games. Chievo could only manage a point against lowly Leece whereas Lazio were beaten 2-1 by Inter last weekend. The last time the two sides met in December it ended 0-0 highlighting the issue both teams have, they don't score enough goals. If Lazio can find someone to aid Miroslav Klose in goalscoring duties they should take this. Chievo would be happy with a point and expect them to play as such.
Genoa were involved in the game of the week last weekend losing 5-3 to Palermo and face an even harder task as they host Napoli. Napoli's confidence will be boosted by their Coppa Italia victory over Inter but their league form is not what is was, drawing their last two after a 1-1 result against struggling Siena. That said Cavani and co destroyed Genoa 6-1 at the Stadio San Paolo in December. Its unlikely their will be a repeat of that score line but Genoa do leak goals and Napoli have one of the best attacking lines in the league. Napoli look set to get their league campaign back on track here.
Palermo will be looking to build on their great win last weekend as they face bottom side Novara. Palermo ended their run of two straight defeats with victory last weekend and now face an easier task as they look towards the Europa league places. Their opponents Novara have only won twice all season and have lost their last 3 league games. Their last point was however against Palermo in a 2-2 draw in December. Palermo's top scorer Fabrizio Miccoli was unavailable for that game and is sure to relish this game against the worst defence in the league. Home win as Palermo steady their ship.
Another struggling team, third from bottom Cesena host Atlanta who will be keen to move away from the relegation zone after being beaten 2-0 in each of their last three games. Again we look to December for the last time Atlanta won a game and it was an emphatic 4-1 victory over Cesena. Since then Atlanta have had a torrid fixture list playing Milan, Lazio and then Juventus last weekend. This is more straightforward against a Cesena team low on confidence after losing 5-1 to Roma, their only points in their last 5 games coming at lowly Novara. Away win as Stefano Colantuono's men stop the rot.
The final game of this weekend sees second place AC Milan play Cagliari in The San Siro. Cagliari are on a 3 match unbeaten run after drawing with Fiorentina. Their last defeat came against Milan when they were beaten 2-0 in December. Milan bounced back after their derby defeat to beat Novara 3-0 last weekend with newly crowned Serie A Player of the year 2011, Zlatan Ibrahimovic amongst the scores. The Swede is now level with Di Natale as the league's top scorer. The derby defeat was Milan's only defeat in 14 league games and only their third all season. Despite a solid look to Cagliari its not hard to say that Massimiliano Allegri's men should take this and keep piling the pressure on leaders Juventus.
Selected match betting:
Juve, Inter ,Roma, Lazio, Napoli, AC Milan, Atlanta & Palermo - All to win : 98/1
Roma V Bologna - Totti to score twice : 5/1
Leece V Inter - Inter win 4-0: 20/1
Enjoy The Games!
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