The final day of the transfer window on Tuesday saw a few deals done by Serie A clubs, but Carlos Tevez remains in Manchester. One player who headed to Manchester was David Pizarro, the 32 year old Roma midfielder has joined Manchester City on a season long loan, after featuring just 4 times this season for Luis Enrique's team. Thiago Motta's move from Inter to PSG was also confirmed last night along with Simone Padoin's transfer from Atlanta to Juventus. Two high profile names left The Old Lady last night with Luca Toni moving to Dubai's Al Nasr and Vincenzo Iaquinta heading to Cesena.
To the action now in what was supposed to be a full mid week fixture list, that was before Parma V Juventus was called off last night due to snow. The weather in northern Italy is poor at the moment with snow affecting areas such as Bologna but there is no word of any other games being called off yet.
The early evening kick off sees Atlanta take on Genoa. Both teams gained good wins on Sunday as Atlanta beat Cesena and Genoa provided one of the upsets of the weekend beating Napoli 3-2. The chance is taken that if Genoa can stop shipping goals that they will beat Atlanta. They have a great striking partnership in Gilardino and Palacio and will be looking to cement their European credentials here.
Later Inter host Palermo looking to bounce back from their 1-0 defeat to lowly Leece last weekend. Raneri's men were on a superb run of form until that blip and are taken to bounce back here. Palermo though will be push over as they look for a third consecutive win after beating Novara 2-0 last weekend. Playing Inter away however is a different proposition and the likes of Sneijder and Milito should see Inter back on track.
The biggest fixture in the midweek action sees Lazio host AC Milan. Both teams cruised through their last game both winning 3-0 against Chievo and Cagliari respectivly. The sides last met 2 weeks ago in The Coppa Italia with Milan winning 3-1. Its hard to envisage anything but a Milan win here especially with the from Zlatan Ibrahimovic is in. Captain Rocchi is expected to start along side Miroslav Klose in the Lazio attack after Cisse joined QPR last night, despite this attacking stance Milan should have enough to ensure they top the table come the end of the evening.
Siena host Catania as they look to climb away from the relegation zone. Siena were beaten 2-1 by Fiorentina as Catania drew 1-1 with Parma. Further highlighting the inconsistency's of both sides, Catania are yet to win in 2012 and Siena have only managed it once. A draw seems the most probable result.
Udinese take on a buoyant Leece side in Udine as they look to recover from a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Juventus last weekend. Leece remain third from bottom but are unbeaten in 3 and their win over Inter will have been morale boosting. However that was at home, away from home Leece's form is poor and with Udinese keen to keep their title hopes alive it would be safe to say another upset is unlikely here.
Cagliari host Roma as both teams try and get back on track after disappointing results. Cagliari comfortably beaten by Milan and Roma held to a 1-1 draw by Bologna. Cagliari's home form is strong and Roma's away form poor. That said if Cagliari play as poorly as they did against Milan Roma will take this. Osvaldo remains out for Roma and it is unclear if Francesco Totti will start for Roma as Luis Enrique looks to use his talisman sparingly.
Providing the weather in Bologna doesn't get worse they will face a resurgent Fiorentina side. Both teams gained good results last weekend but it is Fiorentina who's 2-1 victory of Siena was the most important halting their slide down the table. Bologna are a solid unit and are looking to move away from the relegation zone but Fiorentina might just edge it this time.
Wednesday's final game sees Napoli host Cesena. Both teams were beaten this weekend, Napoli suprisingly by Genoa and Cesena by Atlanta. Walter Mazzarri's Napoli are taken to bounce right back here though. Cesena remain second from bottom with a terrible defensive record and a terrible away record. Napoli boast one of the best attacking lines in the league and the likes of Cavani and Hamsik will relish this opportunity to reestablish their push for European football next season.
Just one game on Thursday sees bottom team Novara take on 13th placed Chievo. Both teams are on dreadful runs with Novara not winning in 10 and Chievo not winning in their last 3 attempts including the 3-0 loss to Lazio last weekend. Novara's 2-0 defeat to Palermo last weekend leaves them 7 points from safety and they will be desperate for all 3 points here. Chievo though will be no easy task and a likely to prove too much for the bottom club. A narrow away win.
Selected Match Betting:
Genoa, Inter, Roma, Udinese, Milan, Napoli - 41/1
Napoli V Cesena - Cesena win 4-0 - 11/1
Udinese V Leece - Di Natale To Score First - 9/4
Enjoy The Games!
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