LAZIO-UDINESE
Lazio: Ciro Immobile did it again in Crotone, and then versus Zenit, and is fixing his numbers after a subpar start compared to last year’s ungodly stats. He is now up to seven goals in eight appearances, plus two assists. Joaquin Correa finally made it to the stat-sheet in a Serie A game, while Luis Alberto did not look particularly affected by the recent controversy, but he rarely scores and quite stunningly has yet to dish an assist. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is expected to return after COVID and he has done his part by scoring twice out of the midfield. Immobile’s return de-emphasizes both Felipe Caicedo and Vedat Muriqi, but the former does not need many minutes to punish goalkeepers. Marco Parolo hit the net after ages in Champions League. Nobody has really popped among their wingbacks lately.
Recommended picks: Immobile, Correa, Alberto.
Udinese: Rodrigo De Paul dominated and decided the Parma tilt with a gorgeous strike, notching his second on the year. He has scored their lone two goals in the last three fixtures. The contribution of the players surrounding him remains pretty lacking as Stefano Okaka has hit the net twice, in the same game, Kevin Lasagna has yet to score and has ceded minutes to Ignacio Pussetto, who rifled one home but has been pretty silent in his recent starts, and Roberto Pereyra is not as involved in the final third as one would hope, but at least he fed De Paul prior to the goal versus Genoa. The coach has walked back the move to a more offensive scheme, and the two wing-backs, Marvin Zeegelaar/Thomas Ouwejan and Jens Stryger Larsen, have a pretty good role in 3-5-2, even though they have not fully broken through yet.
Recommended picks: De Paul, Okaka, Pereyra.
BOLOGNA-CROTONE
Bologna: the Felsinei are finally getting back on track with two wins in the past three matches. While Roberto Soriano has slowed down a bit, they have enjoyed the returns to form of Musa Barrow (two goals, one assist) and Riccardo Orsolini (one goal, one assist), who were their pillars last season. Rodrigo Palacio instead has not hit the net nor set up a teammate in the last four appearances and might give up some minutes to Nicola Sansone that has come back from an injury. Mattias Svanberg has contributed more in the final third than their other pivots, but Andrea Poli and Gary Medel have returned and there could be a shake-up there to bolster the defensive phase, who continues to be their Achilles heel. Left-back Aaron Hickey is coming off his best display of the season. It is a plus match-up for them.
Recommended picks: Barrow, Orsolini, Soriano.
Crotone: same old for the Pitagorici, who were decent through the monsoon in the Lazio game but were unable to find the back of the net for the second straight game. While their leading scorer Simy (three goals) and his bubbly Robin up front Junior Messias were easily stymied, Ahmad Benali finally had a convincing display and he has shown the ability to put up big numbers for a midfielder in the past. They could get a decent boost with the return of Salvatore Molina, who was very dynamic before getting COVID and had notched one goal and one assist in five games. One helper also for Milos Vulic, who has taken advantage of some absences in the midfield, and Arkadiusz Reca, who generally has pretty consistent usage out on the left flank.
Recommended picks: Simy, Messias, Benali.
CAGLIARI-SPEZIA
Cagliari: they could not get anything going against an on-point Juventus, but then showed well in Coppa Italia versus Verona while fielding most of the starters. Giovanni Simeone contracted COVID-19 and leaves behind big shoes to fill: the coach stated that he will not change his approach, but Leonardo Pavoletti and Alberto Cerri are very different type of strikers and they would probably be better off advancing Joao Pedro. Pavoletti has excellent campaigns under his belt, but there is no telling how effective he will be following two straight ACL tears, while Cerri scored midweek, so at least he has some confidence. Riccardo Sottil has done better than Adam Ounas, but the manager has given more playing time to the latter, who has been lively but without end product yet. The ex-Fiorentina winger has instead logged one goal and one assist. Nahitan Nandez tested positive shortly aftere leaving isolation and they will have to make do without him again. They outright tilted their tactic against Juventus, but they might opt to two the two pure wingers together in this one. Right-back Gabriele Zappa has been tough to contain and has had two key passes, while Alessandro Tripaldelli fumbled away his opportunity replacing Charalampos Lykogiannis. Zappa could be a candidate to advance his position with Nandez sidelined.
Recommended picks: Pedro, Sottil, Pavoletti/Cerri.
Spezia: they were unable to find the target against Atalanta, but obviously holding them to a nil-nil tie was already an accomplishment. They could have taken home an even bigger result of Diego Farias did not squander two huge chances in the early minutes. Their leading men in the past few rounds have been M’Bala Nzola and Tommaso Pobega, who have both hit the net twice, while Emmanuel Gyasi and Nahuel Estevez have been active assist-wise. Giulio Maggiore saw plenty of minutes in Coppa Italia and scored twice, therefore he should find his way back to the XI after Coronavirus and he was one of their linchpins last season. Kevin Agudelo should be in better form in this one after a knock sidelined him in the past game and he has been pretty exuberant whenever fielded, on top of finding the target once. Salvador Ferrer is their most interesting fullback but he is questionable with a small ailment and Federico Mattiello and Jacopo Sala have not been great options in years past.
Recommended picks: Nzola, Gyasi, Pobega.
Torino-Sampdoria
Torino: Simone Zaza stepped up in the midst of an injury/COVID crisis that took out their best men Andrea Belotti and Sasa Lukic, and also Simone Verdi mid-game, picking a great time for his first goal of the season. Belotti’s situation is manageable and he will likely be back in this game, otherwise it will be the lively Federico Bonazzoli getting the nod, while Simone Verdi and Lukic will miss some time. Soualiho Meite had an assist at San Siro in his first proper display of the year, while Cristian Ansaldi was given good minutes after disappearing in previous months and nailed a PK, which should earn him some more playing time going forward. Given the absences, which include Amer Gojak and Mergim Vojvoda, it is possible the coach sticks with 3-5-2 that enhances the flank game and Wilfred Singo thrived in that role. Karol Linetty has put his name in the stat-sheet once so far and will be facing his former team.
Recommended picks: Zaza, Belotti/Bonazzoli, Meite.
Sampdoria: they have crashed down to earth after a hot stretch with three consecutive poor results, scoring just a pair of goals, with Morten Thorsby on a corner kick and Jakub Jankto. Fabio Quagliarella has been engulfed in three straight and is also reportedly dealing with a thigh injury which could limit him this week. Manolo Gabbiadini has shaken off his injury and would be ready to pick up the slack if needed, even though he has struggled to stay healthy up to this point. While Balde Keita remains on the mend, Claudio Ranieri has given more minutes to Mikkel Damsgaard over Gaston Ramirez, who has been rather underwhelming so far. Antonio Candreva dished his second assist of the season versus Bologna, while standout left-back Tommaso Augello will be back from suspension. Jankto was sizzling before the international break.
Recommended picks: Quagliarella/Gabbiadini, Jankto, Candreva.
Genoa-Parma
Genoa: Gianluca Scamacca had delivered even in a match where they had not generated much offense, but the goal was called back by a VAR review. He had picked up bonuses in the previous three games by hitting the net twice and providing an assist, quickly asserting himself as their best fantasy asset. The coach has gone back to 3-5-2 in the most recent fixture, but a return to a more proactive scheme could be forthcoming as Nicolò Rovella and Marko Pjaca have shaken off their physical problems, giving them two more good options in the midfield/attack. Miha Zajc and Eldor Shomurodov have not gotten anything going so far, while Goran Pandev has been a little better (one goal, one assist). Paolo Ghiglione and Luca Pellegrini could have some appeal but it hinges on the tactics.
Recommended picks: Scamacca, Pandev, Pjaca.
Parma: after another listless performance versus Roma, the owner suggested to move on from 3-5-2 and that happened promptly in Coppa Italia. It was weird that Fabio Liverani utilized it to begin with, but he had to make do in the wake of several absences. They have not scored in the past two games, but they will be facing an easier opponent here and the schematic switch and a larger use of the newcomers should help. Wylan Cyprien was passable in his first start, while Juan Brunetta was terrific with a brace midweek and he stand to profit the most as he is their purer option at no.10. It remains to be seen whether the coach will trust him in Serie A play right away though. Roberto Inglese and Andreas Cornelius are now both healthy, but somehow neither has been able to find the target and clearly the turnaround needs to start with them. Gervinho has had just one good performance, against Inter, while Jasmin Kurtic and Juraj Kucka have been more consistent and Yann Karamoh has been pestiferous whenever fielded. Using their three top forwards together is an option. The fact that few players returned from various problems has the downside of making their lineup murkier.
Recommended picks: Gervinho, Inglese/Cornelius, Brunetta.
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