Italy Serie A, 24-26. January 2020

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Inter vs Cagliari Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Inter:
Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Young, Barella, Borja Valero, Sensi, Biraghi; Romelu Lukaku, Lautaro Martinez

Cagliari:
Olsen; Farago, Walukiewicz, Klavan, Pellegrini; Nandez, Cigarini, Rog; Nainggolan, Joao Pedro; Simeone

Inter will host Cagliari on Sunday at lunchtime. This will be their second mutual game in less than two weeks. Inter managed to beat Cagliari with 4:1 in Coppa Italia on January 14, with goals scored by Romelu Lukaku (2), Borja Valero and Andrea Ranocchia. Christian Oliva scored the only goal for the guests. I expect another efficient match with goals on both sides.

Inter are on the second place after 20 rounds, four points behind the reigning champions Juventus. Potentially they could drop to the third position, if Lazio win their game in hand against Verona next month. However, it is clear Antonio Conte's men will fight until the last match. The Nerazzurri play a solid season so far and the fans are still dreaming about the Scudetto. The actual form is not at desired level as Inter failed to obtain a victory on the last two matches in Serie A. They first played an 1:1 draw with Atalanta at Meazza. Dropping two points at home is always frustrating, though Inter should be happy not to lose that match. Last weekend they failed to beat relegation-candidates Lecce. The final result was another 1:1 draw, with Alessandro Bastoni scoring the goal on that match. Maybe these poor results are among the reasons for Conte to brought new acquisitions this January. Manchester United defender Ashley Young already signed for Inter and could be in the squad for this match as Antonio Candreva is suspended. Conte has injury issues too. Marcelo Brozovic sprained his ankle and wont play here. Two more players - Danilo D’Ambrosio and Roberto Gagliardini - are also sidelined due to injury.

Cagliari have 30 points from 20 matches and sit on the sixth place. Their ambitions are probably connect with UEFA Europe League, although it wont be easy as some big names (Milan, Torino, Napoli) are chasing the Sardinians. To be worse, the actual form is awful - four defeats and one draw in the last five matches in Serie A. Everything went wrong way against Lazio in December. Cagliari had 1:0 after 90 minutes, but conceded twice in the stoppage time and suffered a painful defeat. After that Cagliari lost three more matches. They lost 2:1 to Udinese, 4:0 to Juventus and 2:0 to Milan. Last weekend Cagliari played a 2:2 draw with Brescia. Coach Rolando Maran was happy with the performance of his team and said they were the better side on that match. The Isolani took the lead with a Joao Pedro's goal, before falling 2:1 behind. It was again Joao Pedro that equalized the game and stopped the series of defeats. Fabio Pisacane received a yellow card on that match and won't play here due to a suspension. That's not all as four additional players are sidelined through injuries - Fabrizio Cacciatore, Luca Ceppitelli, Federico Mattiello and Leonardo Pavoletti. At the end I will mention that Marko Pjaca from Juventus is linked with Cagliari. According to some sources, the Sardinian outfit will pay €1.5m for the 18-month loan and have a further €12m option to buy him in June 2021.

Inter vs Cagliari Prediction:

I expect both teams to score at Giuseppe Meazza. The last three mutual games across all competitions were efficient. However, the key reason for my pick is connect with the current efficiency of both teams. Inter have scored and conceded on the last four matches in all competitions, while Cagliari on the last two. Inter have Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez in excellent form, while the guests have the in-form Joao Pedro who will try to continue his impressive campaign of 13 goals. And don't forget Radja Nainggolan as the Belgian has put five goals past Inter in his career.

Inter vs Cagliari Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.95 with Bet365

 

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Roma vs Lazio Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Roma:
Pau Lopez; Spinazzola, Mancini, Smalling, Kolarov; Cristante, Veretout; Under, Pellegrini, Kluivert; Dzeko

Lazio:
Strakosha; Patric, Acerbi, Radu; Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic, Leiva, Luis Alberto, Lulic; Caicedo, Immobile

It’s going to be a genuine derby between third Lazio and fourth Roma. Both teams are fighting for a Champions League spot, so the fans will enjoy watching an interesting Derby della Capitale. Here are few information for warming up. The first derby was played on 8 December 1929, and finished 1:0 for Roma. The first goalscorer was Rodolfo Volk. Lazio won its first derby almost three years later, on 23 October 1932. The highest victory in a derby was the 5:0 win of Roma during the season 1933/34. However, Lazio holds the record of the most victories in a single season - four during the season 1997/98. The two sides have met twice in Serie A and twice in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia. Lazio won 3:1 and 2:0 in the league, and 4:1 and 2:1 in the cup. In one occasion the derby was played as a Coppa Italia Final, on 26 May 2013. Lazio won 1:0 thanks to Senad Lulic's goal. Francesco Totti is the all-time top scorer in the Derby della Capitale with 11 goals.

Now about the match. Roma are fourth on the table with 38 points. They are occupying the last Champions League spot, but the difference to fifth-placed Atalanta is just three points. Nevertheless, the actual form isn't at desired level. Roma have lost two of the last three matches in Serie A. Both losses came at home and against teams from Turin. The Giallorossi suffered a 2:0 defeat to Torino and a 2:0 defeat to Juventus. To be worse, Paulo Fonseca's men were eliminated from Coppa Italia by losing 3:1 to Juventus in the quarter-finals. The fans are definitely not satisfied with the last results, though everything will be forgotten if they win the city derby. But Roma have big injury issues ahead of the maych with Lazio. Fonseca is still missing the long-term casualties Bryan Cristante and Davide Zappacosta, but there is lot more. Nicolo Zaniolo will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. Zaniolo became very important player in Fonseca's system and his absence is a huge handicap. Midfielders Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Javier Pastore are also unavailable for the rest of the season. Amadou Diawara is the latest addition to the absentee list with a knee injury. That's not all as Diego Perotti, Federico Fazio and Mirco Antonucci are sidelined too. The fact they are fourth during an extraordinary injury crisis is testament to the coach Fonseca and his tactic.

Lazio have 45 points, two less than second-placed Inter, with a match in hand. Their ambitions are connect with the Champions League spot, although the fans start dreaming about Scudetto after two wins over Juventus. The actual form is excellent - 11 victories in the last 11 matches in Serie A. The atmosphere in the squad is just perfect, while the players confidence is very high. Everything started in October when they beat Fiorentina. The next 10 victims were Torino, Milan, Lecce, Sassuolo, Udinese, Juventus, Cagliari, Brescia, Napoli and Sampdoria. Two victories should particularly be mentioned. Lazio did a superb stoppage time comeback against Cagliari, even the opponents had 1:0 after 90 minutes. Midfielder Luis Alberto scored an equalizer after 93 minutes, while Felipe Caicedo's 98th-minute header secured three points. The second important victory was against Juventus. Lazio beat the reigning champions with 3:1 in Serie A, handing their opponents their first defeat under coach Maurizio Sarri. Two weeks later Lazio once again beat Juventus with 3:1 in the Supercoppa final played in Saudi Arabia. Coach Simone Inzaghi is doing an excellent job. For this match he has few injury worries. Joaquin Correa is still not 100 per cent fit and probably he wont play. Three players are definitely sidelined - Danilo Cataldi, Adam Marusic and Jordan Lukaku.

Roma vs Lazio Prediction:

As of 1 September 2019, there have been 151 competitive meetings between the teams in Serie A. Roma have better H2H record (54:38), however I think Lazio are closer to the victory now. The Biancocelesti
are in fantastic form, they are in series of 11 victories in Serie A. The players confidence is very high. Ciro Immobile scored a hat-trick in the last round to take his tally to 23 goals this season. He is the league best scorer at the moment, even ahead of Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. And I think he is able to make a difference in the derby.

Roma vs Lazio Pick: Lazio @ 2.48 with Pinnacle

 

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Napoli vs Juventus Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Napoli:
Ospina; Hysaj, Di Lorenzo, Manolas, Mario Rui; Allan, Fabian Ruiz, Zielinski; Callejon, Milik, Insigne

Juventus:
Szczesny; Cuadrado, De Ligt, Bonucci, Alex Sandro; Bentancur, Pjanic, Matuidi; Ramsey; Dybala, Ronaldo

Napoli are hosting the reigning champions and I expect an interesting match at at the Stadio San Paolo. The points from this match are extremely important as Napoli are in the middle of the table. They have 24 points, huge 14 behind fourth-placed Roma. Many believe the season is already over for Napoli. That's why the owner Aurelio De Laurentiis sacked ex-coach Carlo Ancelotti, but nothing have changed under newly appointed Gennaro Gattuso. Napoli lost 2:1 at home to Parma in his debut. The Vesuvians finally won in the last match in 2019. They beat Sassuolo with 2:1 deep into stoppages for Gattuso’s first victory. But that was only an isolated spark as Napoli lost the next three matches in Serie A. They suffered a 3:1 home defeat to Inter, a narrow 1:0 defeat to Lazio, while in the last round were defeated 2:0 by Fiorentina. Gattuso became the first coach since Zdenek Zeman in 2000 to lose three of his first four Serie A games for the club. Losing against Juventus will questioned his position. The atmosphere in the squad is bad, while the players confidence is low. Gattuso is still missing Kalidou Koulibaly with a thigh strain and that's a big handicap. Kevin Malcuit, Dries Mertens, Faouzi Ghoulam and Nikola Maksimovic are still struggling with injuries. New signings Diego Demme and Stanislav Lobotka should start from the bench.

Juventus are on the first place in Serie A. They have four points more than second-placed Inter and once again they are main candidates for Scudetto. The atmosphere in the squad is good following the series of five league victories. The Old Lady managed to beat Udinese with 3:1, Sampdoria in Genoa with 2:1, Cagliari with 4:0, Roma with 2:1 and Parma with 2:1 last weekend. The Bianconerri are doing well in the Coppa Italia too. They secured the semi-finals with a 3:1 win over Roma. Cristiano Ronaldo was pivotal for the successful series scoring in each of the last seven Serie A games. He became the first Juventus player to achieve that since Davide Trezeguet (scored in 9 matches) in 2005. I am sure the Portuguese star will try to break this record, starting from this match. Coach Sarri has five injury worries as Danilo, Mattia De Sciglio, Giorgio Chiellini, Merih Demiral and Sami Khedira are all sidelined. At the end I will mention that all eyes will be focused on Maurizio Sarri as this will be the first time he is coming as an opponent. I am not sure about the fans reaction, but it will be an emotional night for Sarri. There is no doubt about Gonzalo Higuain, like always he will receive a frosty reception.

Napoli vs Juventus Prediction:

The actual form is on Juventus side. Napoli play poor season and coach Gattuso is already under heavy pressure. On contrary, Juve are in series of victories and the players confidence is high. Cristiano Ronaldo is in fantastic form, he has scored 12 goals in his last nine appearances for the club and I believe he is able to make difference in this match.

Napoli vs Juventus Pick: Away win @ 2.05 with Bet365