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After being defeated by Juventus, Roma went on a seven-game winning run in the championship in which they scored 22 goals (more than 3 on average), and in that period they only didn't concede a goal from Palermo and Sassuolo. It's known that Roma's defense is nowhere near as strong as it was last year, and goalkeeper Szcezny, is prone to fail. Okay, they didn't score in two matches against Real, but they crated an incredible amount of sure sots in Madrid. Today Spalletti announced a furious Roma who want to diminish the criticism about bad realization, and he announced Dzeko, Perotti, Salah and El Shaaraway from the first minute - all forwards. Udinese? It's hard to explain them this season. They have a very good team and they play very good football, but they lose too much. A lack of luck, problems with realization, there's more. The fact that they will be extremely motivated, in a forwards 4-3-3 lineup with Therauo and Di Natale should guarantee goals versus Roma. This season in Rome it was 3-1 for Roma, and I expect a similar type of a match in which there should be no lack of goals. Details

Considering the current state on the table and the importance of points for both teams, this is going to be a nervous match. Such was the first one played at Matusi in which Frosinone won thanks to a goal by Sammarco during injury time. Referee Damato have out six yellow and two red cards in that match. Both teams are very feisty, and then they play together, it's a real war zone. Today referee Banti is just favoring the over. OK, in the last two matches he had an under of cards (two and five, but also one red one), and before that in six of his matches there were six or more yellow cards. In the Sampdoria - Roma match he gave out nine yellow cards. I expect at least seven to eight yellow cards today, and probably one red card. The bet is available under option "total booking points" at William Hill with even better odds, and there you also have a "total match cards" over six at 2.45. Bookies offer options over 5.5 of yellow cards... Details

It rarely happens that Bayern wins only once in four matches, but the tough fixture and a little bit of misfortune brought them such results. Bayern are still five points ahead of Borussia, but last week's draw put Guardiola in such a situation in which he can't rest the key players before the clash against Juventus. Werder are playing very well after the winter break, and they're obviously coming to Munich to get their slice of the cake. The yellow cards of key midfielders Junuzovic and Fritz in the last minutes of the match against Hannover testify to that; because of those they can't play in Munich. Besides, they won't have Bartels and Pizarr, so Werder will really be in for a tough job against motivated Bayern. Considering Werder's absences, it's questionable with what kind of a goal-difference will Bayern win. Last year it was 6-0, a year before that 5-2, a year before that 6-1, and in 2011 it was 4-1 for Bayern. Details

The odds don't make this seem like a derby, but Roma's coach said it well, the mood before the Napoli - Roma duel is as if the best team were hosting the complete outsider. That's definitely not true, especially now that Gervinho and Salah are back for Roma. They're very fast wing forwards who can harm defenses stronger than Napoli's. Besides, Bologna scored three goals, and almost four, to Rein. Napoli's defense showed weaknesses against Inter already, and Bologna revealed them even further. On the other hand, their offense are great, Higuain's been brilliant, their wing forwards are really dangerous (Callejon, Insigne, Mertens), and both teams have midfielders who can also be dangerous playing the offense. In a match where both teams use 4-3-3 tactic with top notch forwards, and whose goalies showed insecurity lately, it's hard to expect this game not to end with many goals scored. Details

Atalanta are always a good bet when they are playing at home in Bergamo, and especially when they are facing the broken army from Sicily. The home team have been encouraged by the win over Roma, and Reja's team has been playing good football this season, they seem strong in defense, they always have a good striker in the offense, and they are very dangerous from counterattacks through fast Morales and Gomez. On the other side, Palermo lost their coach despite solid efforts, some players complained immediately, and they completely fell apart after the loss in the Cup against third league side Alessandria. Daprela and experienced midfielders Maresca and Rigoni have been removed from the otherwise short team, especially in the situation ahead of the game against Atalanta when Ballardini is struggling with suspensions and injuries. Their biggest handicap is definitely suspension of their main offensive player, Vasquez, who is Palermo's best player. To make things even worse for them, a lot of first team players played against Alessandria and with 10 players for 70 minutes and they are quite spent. Details

Napoli are crushing everyone in front of them and at this point it pays off to force them. Maybe their wins against Chievo (0-1) and Paermo (2-0) don't look too convinving, but the actual game was different and only luck, the goal posts and good goalkeepers saved them from carnage. Higuain probably never looked as convincing as he did on the start of the season under Sarri. Insigne and Mertens are great on the left side of the offense, and on the right is the great Callejon One Gabiadini who is an extra offense class in Italy hardly reaches any playing time at all. Napoli's win is a good bet, but considering that it's an away match against Genoa, an even better bet is an over of 2.5 goals because Gasperini's team are "crazy". Their offensive 3-4-3 football can bring them unexpected success, but also get them killed against such Napoli. These teams traditionally play matches pleasing to the eye with a lot of goals, and considering the shape and their latest editions, there's no reason for that not to repeat itself. Details

Colantuono and Udinese could be a good combo since he's a coach that did great in Atalanta for years, and a club that is a garden for growing talent. Udinese shocked Juventus in the first round, taking all three points, and Colantuono's influence could be seen then already, his team looked like they did in the best days when Guidolino was leading them. Firm and compact defense, fast killer transitions will be what will make Udinese's game this season. They're especially motivated today because their renewed stadium Friuli is being opened, and the fan support should be better than usual. They're hosting a team who struggled in the first round, and who got a real goalgetter when Gilardino arrived, because Vazquez is a playmaker, first and foremost. They beat the decimated Genoa in the first round thanks to the center back's goal in the injury time, but even Genoa, as weakened as they were, had a few great chances, and didn't let Iachini's team get it easy. Udinese's forwards should have plenty of room in this match, and should take advantage of that. Details

Carpi dominated the Serie B last season, but they won't have it easy in the Serie A, judging by what they showed in the first round. Sampdoria demolished them in the first half-time, and only stopped, a little, after shaking Brkić's net five times. Brkić was quite insecure, and his tending was disastrous. Muriel and Eder looked like Ronaldo and Messi, and it's hard to believe that Castori can create a miracle in one week, to make his defense look like Atalanta's did against Inter. Mancini's team got the win thanks to Jovetić's goal in the third minute of the injury time, but looked much better than the last season. Miranda and Murillo brought security in the defense, and Jovetić showed he's a noble offensive player who will much to Inter this season. Icardi's not here, which is a handicap, but Palacio and Jovetić guarantee danger for Brkić's goal. Inter love playing matches like these, against the shaken rookies in the first league. Just remember how Sassuolo fared in their first match when they first got to Serie A. Details

Milan started the season by losing an away match against Fiorentina, and Empoli were crushed at home by Chievo. Even though the Florence away match is one of the trickiest in the Serie A, even though the opponents scored twice from the set pieces (free kick and eleven-meter shot), and even though Milan spent over half the match with a player less - we couldn't see the strong Milan the new coach Mihajlović was announcing. Now Mihajlović will play his first at San Siro, and he really needs the win. He couldn't have picked a better opponent. Empoli were a hit of the league last year, but the key elements left the club. The great coach Sarri took the key players Valdidorfi and Hysay with him to Napoli, and the goalie Sepe and the experienced forward Tavano also left the club. What the new Giampaolo's Empoli showed in the first round wasn't good at all - a very insecure defense, the unreliable goalie Skorupski. Besides, Chievo managed to score three goals at Castellazio, and they're a team based completely on the defensive when they leave Verona. Empoli's defense will have a tough task now because Bacca and Luiz Adriano surely want to justify themselves after being criticized after the first match, and the bad boy Balotelli is back to Milan. Details

Verona and Empoli are safe in mid-table and can't make significant moves up or down in the last three rounds so coaches Mandorlini and Sarri don't have an easy job in motivating their players. Mandorlini has an easier job because everyone in Verona has a big goal in the last three rounds and that is for Luca Toni to win the title of the Serie A top scorer. Even though Luca Toni will celebrate his 38th birthday in ten days, he is relentlessly scoring and he is currently fighting three Argentinian players for the title of the Serie A top scorer. Tevez scored 20, Icardi 19, but Juventus and Inter have only two games to play before the end, while the only one who can join Toni, who scored 18, in the race is Higuain who is on 16 goals. Absolutely all news and statements regarding the Empoli game from Verona talk about Toni's possibility to be the top scorer, and even coach Mandorlini said that the whole team will try to help him score at least one goal today. He is the penalty kick shooter in Verona and central forward in the 4-3-3 formation, and all passes in dangerous situations go to him. He scored nine goals in the last ten games, and he should continue his scoring streak against relaxed Empoli who conceded three times against Fiorentina in the previous round, even though it was the Tuscan derby, a game that doesn't lack tension. Toni played for Empoli 19 years ago, he played only three games for the Tuscan team and scored one goal. Details

Theoretically, Cagliari are still fighting to stay, but realistically, they don't stand a chance because three rounds before the end, they're 8 points behind Atalanta. That's because Palermo lost at home to Atalanta, 2-3, last week, and that tells you what the defenses were like in that duel. Palermo aren't brilliant in the end of the season, the coach Iachini is trying out the players who didn't play much this season, and getting the team ready for the post-Dybala period because their best forward is definitely leaving them this summer. A good substitute is the young Belotti, who's playing for the U21 national team and is eager to prove himself. On the other hand, Cagliari have a new coach Festa who brought better results than his predecessors, Zeman and Zola, but whose team is still trying to score one more goal than the opponent. Čop and Farias work well in the offense, and Mpoku is still a great playmaker. The defense? That wasn't their strong card this season, and it won't be today when they host Palermo. There will definitely be chances to score the goal, and the only threat to that is the fact that these two teams are making records in Serie A when it comes to hitting the goal posts. Details

Even though Juventus won the 4th championship title and have been nothing but dominant in Serie A, the odds at Inter are dropping constantly for a very simple reason - Juventus secured the title two weeks ago and had the exhaustion meeting with Real in CL. Allegri wasn't making any changes to the lineup until the very end for the fear of overtime in that game. They have Coppa Italia final next Wednesday which is a chance for them to win the title after 20 years. It's almost amazing it's been that long but that is why Allegri marked the Cup as one of the most important competitions for Juventus ahead of this season. Given all of that, and regardless of fact they are great rivals, Juventus B will play at San Siro today. The substitutes are good players but not even close to starters in quality. Allegri might decide to use the relentless Marchisio and young Morata. That Juventus team got a point against Cagliari a week ago and the odds at 1.8 on Inter are realistic. That means we still have value here even though it's dropping. Now, what do we make of Inter, the most unpredictable Serie A team. Manchini is undefeated for 7 games, they are fighting for Europa League but Inter couldn't beat Parma and Chievo home. The last away games against Udinese and Lazio confirmed Mancini is done with tactical experiments and that should see them beat Juventus, even without Guarin and Hernanes. Details

Two goals were scored in a match between Genoa and Cagliari, and considering the way the game went on, it's incredible. The goalpost shook four times on Ferraris (Cagliari scored 3, Genoa 1), and the goalies Brkić and Lamanna were the best players in their respective teams. It was another typical Zeman match, one that is expected against Napoli. Besides, Zeman said that kind of game brought him a point on San Paolo (3-3), and that he'll play that way again. Napoli's defense showed that they're not really great often this season, especially in away duels - on the other hand, Benitez really has the strongest offensive arsenal of the Serie A. His players confirmed that in Wolfsburg where they scored four goals this Thursday, and to make things better, all the offensive players he used either assisted or scored in that duel (Higuain, Gabbiadini and Hamšik scored x2, and Mertens, Higuain, Callejon and Insigne assisted). So, Benitez is having sweet worries when planning the offense, especially because they beat Fiorentina 3-0 in the previous match. An offense in such a good mood against the weak Cagliari's defense will have lots of chances, but Cagliari also guarantee numerous chances with the way they're playing, so we'll definitely see a festival of goals on Sardinia. Details

The odds are definitely too high for Empoli, only because of both clubs' names. Looking at their effect this season, the realistic odds for Empoli are 1.30-1.40, so there's definitely value in betting on the home team here. OK, Sarrie's team are in a series of two defeats - but those were in Torino against Juventus and Rome against Lazio, so away games against best teams of the league. Also, the goalie Buffon was really dangerous in Torino, he's one of the best players of the current leader. Now they're coming back home to Tuscany, and will play against one of the last teams of Serie A. They want to start winning again, and Sarri doesn't have any absences. On the other hand, Parma's problems are well known, and now there are some additional ones. The first one is that the Alliance gave them four penalty points after a series of good results, so they wouldn't dare to think they can save themselves from being eliminated. The second additional problem is that this is their fifth game in two weeks, and that kind of rhythm isn't easy even for the teams ready for it - and Parma are definitely not ready because everyone who could have left the club in the last months have, and Donadoni's roster is really slim (he also has to deal with Jorquera's suspension and Galloppe and Mendes's injuries). Empoli are a team with a specific kind of game that brings them great results this season, and they should easily get all three points against the tired and unmotivated Parma. Details

On one side, we have Sassuolo who are out of form, and are in the middle of the Serie A league table, not having to fear being eliminated, but also not being able to join the fight for Europe. On the other side, we have Torino who have been playing great lately, and are coming to Reggio Emilia with the whole roster. Sassuolo have big absence issues, especially in the defense and the midfield, which could be a problem for Di Francesco because Torino's game style will definitely not suit them. Also, Torino have Glik who's the most efficient center back of the league. The only minus for this bet is that Torino will play a city derby against Juventus in the next match, and that duel is their chance to end the series of failures against the city rival in the last year. So, Ventura is expected to spare players who are in danger of the yellow cards against Sassuolo. They all came to Reggio Emilia, but most will be wild cards from the bench for Ventura, ready to jump in if things don't go as planned. Details

Verona are relaxed and playing an offense-oriented game lately. But when Mandorlini's players get too relaxed, they get punished as last round's game against Cesena proved. They had a 3-0 lead and controlled the game only to go on and stop to concede 3 goals in a matter of 10 minutes and get only one point. Verona lose to Inter as a rule and visitors always score at least 2 goals. Icardi is back at Inter but there is really no point on betting on Manchini's team following their previous results. Still, they are expected to look for a win and they're motivated, meaning Verona's defense won't have it easy today. On the other hand, Inter's defense is not very reliable as even the bottom table Parma managed to score at San Siro. Verona definitely have the players capable of causing trouble for Inter defense, especially Luca Toni, who has what it takes to take on Inter's players and who's doing great again. There are also Gomez and Jankovic and Lopez, who scored at San Siro coming on from the bench both against Inter and Milano. Both coaches say they'll play to win and we should be in for a productive game today. Details

There is no reason not to expect another Calgari game at 3 or more goals. Ever since Zeman was reinstated at Calgiari, they have gotten back to playing a very offense-oriented game to score a lot of goals and concede even more. After 4 goals in the Milano and Lazio game, they are set to meet Genoa in a meeting both coaches claim will be open. It's no surprise that is what they expect as Genoa's 3-4-3 formation lives for fast transition that can definitely pose major threat for the feeble Cagliari defense. On the other hand, there is also what Zeman said ahead of the game against Inter away (his team scored 4 goal by half time) that is team are best against teams who have three defenders in the line. Neither team struggle with absences in offense and both say they'll fight for three points. Both will go with three forwards from the start and there is no reason not to expect at least three goals at Ferrais. Details

Fiorentina, thanks to two goals by the fast Salah, beat Juventus 2-1 and are now defending that advantage in the rematch. Coach Montella said that he will defend the advantage from the first match by attacking Juventus, and considering his team's gamestyle that's no surprise because they're the most dangerous when they can do counterattacks. Fiorentina are technically the most primed up team of the league who are dangerous in each segment of the match after the purchases they did during the winter. They have the dangerous distant shot Diamanti, a couple of extremely fast players among which Salah takes the first place, and a couple of dangerous jumpers with set pieces like Gonzal Rodriguez, Basanta and Mario Gomez.
Juventus have to attack because without at least two goals Allegri's team have no way to enter the finals, and this is a competition in which they want to win because they didn't earn a trophy in 20 years. Tevez and Morata can score two goals to any defense, but considering Fiorentina's strength, they will have to achieve more because their midfield without Pirlo, Pogbo and Marchisi didn't do well against Empoli. On Saturday Empoli reached chances way too easy in front of the happy Bouffon, and now Marchisio will return. But, he will play next to Vidal and Pereyro who are thinking more about offense than defense so stoppers and Storari will have to do double work.
All points to that that we will see a match as Fiorentina's coach announced: very open in which we shouldn't lack chances and goals. Details

Even though it might not cross your mind that a duel between Genoa and Udinese could end up with lots of goals, their last matches prove otherwise. In each of the last two duels these teams played, six goals were scored. Those were actually very interesting matches where both teams used their main advantages - fast transitions from the defense to the offense, and being aggressive in front of the opponents' goal. Those facts might not make everyone feel like they should bet on an over, but when you also know the situation with the absences, you might change your mind. Genoa were saved with the crazy interventions by the goalie Perin numerous times this season, but he got a dislocated shoulder, so Lamanna will jump in. On the other hand, Udinese are playing without the important center backs Domizzi and Danilo, which is great for this bet because that means Wague will start, and he's dangerous when jumping in front of the opponents' goal, but also prone to mistakes in his team's defensive area. Details

Zdenek Zeman is in charge at Cagliari again, which means they will go back to run'n'gun football. They are always offense-oriented when Zeman is the head coach and that kind of approach results in a lot of goal-opportunities. Also, it results in a lot of room for their opponents in defense. Calgari are capable of scoring against Lazio, as they proved by finishing with two goals in the first head-to-head in Rome. But Lazio are one of the best teams when it comes to counter-attacking through Anderson and Candreve. Both teams need to win because Cagliari need new points in their bid to stay in the league while Lazio need points for Champions Leage. Both teams struggle with injuries in defense and we are expected to see a new great and productive game. Details