Despite the best efforts of groundsmen across Italy two games have already fallen victim to the dreadful weather that has struck Italy. Both Saturday games, Cesena V Catania and Roma V Inter have been called off. There is the possibility of more games being postponed as snow continues to fall across the country. However I will continue as usual as their has been no more news as yet.
So we begin on Sunday at The Stadio Luigi Ferraris as Genoa host Lazio. Lazio blew the title race wide open on Wednesday by beating AC Milan 2-0 leaving themselves just 5 points off leaders Juventus. Genoa were unable to play mid week but will come into this in good heart after their extraordinary win over Napoli last weekend. Lazio have major injury problems with Andres Dias, Christian Brocchi and Lorik Cana all unavailable. Genoa have no such problems and did manage to beat Lazio in the reverse fixture earlier in the season. A very tricky opener in which a draw seems the most likely outcome.
Unbeaten Juventus take on Siena as they look to move away from their rivals at the top of the division. Both teams games in midweek fell foul of the weather so we look back to last weekend were Juventus beat Udinese 2-1 and Siena were beaten by Fiorentina 2-1. Antonio Conte's men are in fantastic form and will be looking to make it 4 wins on the bounce here against a Siena team who have only managed to beat The Old Lady once in eleven attempts in Serie A. Juventus will be hot favourites to take all 3 points here and the inform Alessandro Matri looks certain to add to his goal tally too. Comfortable home win.
A resurgent Fiorentina side take on Udinese with both teams having won their previous game 2-1. Fiorentina gained a much needed win beating Siena last weekend whereas Udinese beat strugglers, Lecce on Wednesday. Fiorentina were on a slide before last weekends victory and are a better side than their form suggests, however Udinese are a strong outfit and it is down to the work of their strikers, Antonio Di Natale & Antonio Floro Flores that they remain third in the table. Udinese are at the moment one of the most inconsistent sides in the division winning 2 of their last 5. Depending on what Udinese turn up they should take the points back to Udine. A narrow away win.
Eighth placed Palermo will be looking to cement their European credentials by beating an Atalanta side hovering above the relegation zone. Atalanta were unable to play on Wednesday so their last game ended in a 1-0 victory of Cesena last Sunday. Palermo were able to play in an extraordinary game that saw them draw 4-4 with Inter. Palermo showed fantastic spirit in that game with Fabrizio Miccoli grabbing a hat trick they have an inform striker. Providing that effort hasn't taken to much out of them Bortolo Mutti's men should take all 3 points against a struggling Atalanta team that can only seem to beat teams below them. A relatively comfortable home win.
Rock bottom Novara remain 7 points from safety at the foot of the table after suffering another defeat at the hands of Chievo, 2-1 on Thursday. They face an even stiffer assignment when they host Cagliari, who beat AS Roma 4-2 in another bizzare game on Wednesday. Novara have only won two games all season and look all but relegated, Cagliari however have cemented themselves in mid table and have shown they can match the big boys beating Roma and drawing with Juventus in recent weeks. Davide Ballardini's men are simply impossible to oppose in this one. Comfortable away win.
Chievo host Parma in a mid table battle. After beating Novara 2-1 on Thursday night Chievo ended a 2 game losing streak and they are taken to gain back to back wins here. Parma have only won one of their last 5 games and have drawn their last two scoring just one goal. A 0-0 scoreline last weekend against Catania will have done little to appease fans over their teams poor form. The reverse fixture ended in a 2-1 victory for Parma but Chievo should be able to turn that around at home. Narrow home win.
Third from bottom Leece take on a Bologna side who were spared a mid week game. Their hosts had no such luck as they slumped to another defeat, 2-1 against Udinese. Bologna's last 3 games have all been draws including their 1-1 draw in Rome last Sunday. Yet another draw may be the most likely outcome here, despite their poor league position Leece have beaten the likes of Inter and Fiorentina in recent weeks and did beat Bologna earlier in the season. Since then however Bologna have improved with Marco Di Vaio back amongst the goals. Too tough too call, draw.
The game of the weekend sees AC Milan take on Napoli in the San Siro. Massimiliano Allegri's men had looked liked they had bounced back from their Milan Derby defeat that was until Wednesday night when they were beaten 2-0 by Lazio. Napoli too had a dissapointing result drawing 0-0 with lowly Cesena, meaning Napoli have now drawn 3 of their last 5. Walter Mazzarri's men where able to beat Milan 3-1 in the reverse fixture but are unlikely to repeat that here with their great attacking line struggling for goals. Goals are something Milan have no problem with they have the best attacking line in the league and aided greatly by a free scoring Zlatan Ibrahimovic. A reverse of the 3-1 score line looks a good possibility as the Rossoneri bounce back again. High scoring home win.
Selected match betting:
Juventus, Udinese, Palermo, AC Milan, Chievo & Cagliari - All to win 61/1
AC Milan V Napoli - AC Milan win 3-1 - 11/1
Juventus V Siena - A. Matri Score A Brace - 7/2
Enjoy The Games!
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