Italy Round 19

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Roma vs Atalanta Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Roma:
Patricio; Mancini, Cristante, Llorente; Kristensen, Bove, Paredes, Pellegrini, Zalewski; Dybala, Lukaku

Atalanata:
Carnesecchi; Scalvini, Djimsiti, Kolasinac; Zappacosta, De Roon, Ederson, Ruggeri; Koopmeiners, De Ketelaere; Scamacca

Roma welcome Atalanta at Stadio Olimpico in a derby game of Serie A this weekend. The teams are separated by just one point in the standings, so I expect an interesting match. Roma have progressed to the Coppa Italia quarter-finals in midweek, winning 2:1 against Serie B opposition. It was a hard victory as Cremonese controlled the result until the 77th minute, but Romelu Lukaku and Paulo Dybala scored in the finish of the match and escaped another embarrassing exit. Just to remind You, Cremonese have eliminated Roma last season. However, the victory have a positive impact and I believe the players confidence is higher. Nevertheless, the fans are not fully satisfied with the last results. Roma are outside Top-4 and three points from this match are very important. Jose Mourinho, who has rotated their squad for Wednesday's cup fixture, will revert to a more familiar starting eleven here. Dybala and top goalscorer Lukaku, should start from the first minute. Houssem Aouar and Evan Ndicka have both left for the Africa Cup of Nations and their absence is surely a problem for Mourinho. Chris Smalling and Tammy Abraham remain long-term absentees, but defender Marash Kumbulla could be back on the bench after an eight-month layoff.

Atalanta have 29 points from 18 matches and I believe the fans are not fully satisfied. Their team have played in the Champions League in the recent years, so they are expecting to see top football. However, the big majority of their fans are realistic, so coach Gian Piero Gasperini is not under pressure. On contrary, he has an iconic status in Bergamo. But Mr Gasperini has two big concerns ahead of this match. First is connect with the poor away form. Atalanta suffered two painful defeats on the last two matches on road. They lost 3:0 to Torino and then lost 1:0 in Bologna. It is clear they need to collect points away from home to remain competitive in the battle for the Champions League spots. The second problem is the absence of the club leading scorer Ademola Lookman. He is on Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria and his absence is a huge handicap. Lookman have 10 goals to his name (scored 7 and assisted three) and he is simply irreplaceable. To be worse, fellow striker El Bilal Toure is still on the road to recovery from a serious thigh injury. Hans Hateboer and Rafael Toloi are also unavailable. Gasperini will surely make several changes following his side's midweek cup victory against Sassuolo. Swedish centre-back Isak Hien, who recently came from Hellas Verona, could play his first minutes in the new club.

Roma vs Atalanta Prediction:

Roma and Atalanta are both trailing behind Italy's top four, so the points from this match are very important for both teams. I expect an interesting match at Olimpico and I will give some advantage to Roma. It is true the Giallorosi have lost two of their last three league outings, but both defeats were suffered away from home. It is a different story when Roma play at home they have six wins on the last seven Serie A home matches, conceded only three goals in the process. I think the series of positive results will continue against Atalanta, particularly because they will be missing the leading goalscorer Lookman.

Roma vs Atalanta Pick: Roma to win @ 2.39 with Pinnacle

 

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Udinese vs Lazio Preview:

Posssible starting lineups:

Udinese:
Okoye; Joao Ferreira, Perez, Kristensen; Ebosele, Payero, Walace, Lovric, Kamara; Pereyra, Lucca

Lazio:
Provedel; Lazzari, Patric, Romagnoli, Marusic; Guendouzi, Rovella, Kamada; Isaksen, Castellanos, Zaccagni

Udinese welcome Lazio to the Bluenergy Arena on Sunday afternoon. Udinese finally got their first long-awaited home win of the season when they beat Bologna. It was a high and deserved 3:0 win. Despite ending the match with only 25% of possession, the Zebrette punished the visitors with their clinical finishing. Veteran midfielder Roberto Pereyra opened the scoring in the 23rd minute after a flurry of saves from Lukasz Skorupski. Udinese added two more just after the break with goals scored by Lorenzo Lucca and a rocket of a shot from midfielder Martin Payero. The atmosphere in the squad is much better now and they will try to secure another victory. Coach Gabriele Cioffi has five unavailable players for this match. Jordan Zemura is on international duty with Zimbabwe, while Enzo Ebosse is out injured. That's not all as one of the key players Gerard Deulofeu is also sidelined through injury, while summer signings Brenner and Keinan Davis remain long-term injury victims. Cioffi is surely happy that defenders Adam Masina and Hassane Kamara were not called up to the Africa Cup of Nations.

Lazio have collect 27 points and sit on the 9th position. Their ambition is connect with the Champions League spots, however it won't be simple. The Biancocelesti are just two points behind Atalanta in sixth, while the current gap to the fourth place is six points. Lazio finished 2023 with a back-to-back wins over Empoli and Frosinone. Sarri's men have scored five goals on the mentioned two games, while conceded just once. Nevertheless, their away form isn't at highest level as they have lost five matches as guests already this season. The next period is very busy for Lazio as they have matches in three competitions. The upcoming Derby della Capitale Coppa Italia clash against Roma have a priority among the fans, but there is also the Supercoppa semi-final clash with Inter Milan in Saudi Arabia the following week. Nevertheless, Sarri will ask the players to stay focused on Udinese. He has big worries as two crucial players, Ciro Immobile and Luis Alberto are sidelined with hamstring and groin injury respectively. Taty Castellanos will probably lead the attack, but he is not as good as Immobile. The Japanese international Daichi Kamada is available after the midfielder wasn't called for the upcoming Asian Cup.

Udinese vs Lazio Prediction:

Udinese were struggling playing at home, their first victory at the Bluenergy Arena came last week. I believe the players confidence is now higher and they won't lose here. Lazio will be without two key players Ciro Immobile and Luis Alberto. It is a huge handicap for Sarri. Lazio can't win here in situation when their two key players are out injured.

Udinese vs Lazio Pick: Udinese +0.5 AH @ 1.60 with Pinnacle