Serie A Fantasy Preview – Round Nine – Top Matches

SASSUOLO-INTER

Sassuolo: the Neroverdi were actually pretty opportunistic against Verona, as they did not create all that much, but still found the target twice. The major development is that Jeremie Boga resurfaced in a big way with a terrific goal, his first of the season after dealing with COVID, and he is poised to resume being the weapon he was last year, when he notched 11 goals and two assists was uncatchable. Domenico Berardi continues to heap misery on the opponents as he scored his fourth goal of the season and provided his third helper. Filip Djuricic was not great in his first game back, but he obviously deserves some slack and he was splendid before contracting Coronavirus. Francesco Caputo will be questionable this week as well and his replacement Giacomo Raspadori has not done damage in relief. Manuel Locatelli and Maxime Lopez have been quieter since their offensive linchpins returned, while Rogerio is their peppier fullback.

Recommended picks: Berardi, Boga, Djuricic.

Inter: Romelu Lukaku was devastating against Torino, saving the day with two goals and two assists. The Belgian striker has picked up bonus points in all but two rounds, scoring seven times in total. Lautaro Martinez was used off the bench, but still nudged one home for the second game in a row and he is definitely past his short slump. First goal instead for Alexis Sanchez, who took advantage of the rare start. The three attackers featured together for a bit, which is an interesting solution because they lack oomph in the midfield, as Arturo Vidal and Roberto Gagliardini chiefly take care of the dirty work, and only Nicolò Barella has made some noise with few assists. Their wing-backs Ashley Young and Achraf Hakimi have had more appeal so far, especially thanks to some assists, even though the Moroccan specialist has yet to reach his insane Bundesliga levels.

Recommended picks: Lukaku, Martinez, Young.

 

BENEVENTO-JUVENTUS

Benevento: they took home a much-needed victory against Fiorentina, with unlikely hero Riccardo Improta rising to the occasion with a sublime goal. They will get Gianluca Caprari back from suspension in this one and Gianluca Lapadula will not be dealing with the lingering fatigue of international duties: the dynamic duo has combined for six goals and four assists, perfectly distributed between the two. The third spot in the trident generally goes to Roberto Insigne, who has hit the net once, but Improta will stake his claim after the strong performance, while Marco Sau was not great while substituting Caprari. The other components of the XI carry little fantasy value as their midfielders, Artur Ionita, Pasquale Schiattarella and Perparim Hetemaj in this case because Brayan Dabo is out with COVID, are mostly defensive-minded. Ionita had some value in his best stretches in Cagliari but it has not replicated here. Fullback Gaetano Letizia could be worth a look since he is decently plucky, but only in easier matches.

Recommended picks: Lapadula, Caprari, Improta/Insigne.

Juventus: Cristiano Ronaldo will be given a day off in this one a torrid stretch and therefore Paulo Dybala will be given another shot to break out of his funk. Alvaro Morata has been tremendous in Champions League (five goals) and pretty good in Serie A play (two goals, three assists). Dejan Kulusevski had gotten off to a strong start but has not made much noise in recent matches, as he has not found the target nor set up a teammate in the last five, while Federico Chiesa has been limited by a small injury. Aaron Ramsey has recovered and could be ready for more minutes, but Federico Bernardeschi has reemerged in surprising fashion in the last two fixtures, where he has fared pretty well and came close to scoring. However, like last season, they are getting almost all of their goals from their strikers. Juan Cuadrado has been the most consistent player in the supporting case and he has provided four assists in the last four appearances.

Recommended picks: Morata, Kulusevski, Cuadrado.

 

ATALANTA-VERONA

Atalanta: another subpar outing for the Bergamaschi offense, which could not perforate Spezia’s defense. Late returns from international duties might had a hand in it as Alejandro Gomez looked spent and played only a half and Duvan Zapata was held to just one chance, where he hit the post. However, their fresh replacements were not much more effective either. However, three days later, they bested Liverpool with a striker-less lineup and Josip Ilicic scored his first goal in ages, so go figure. Luis Murielhas notched four goals and two assists so far, arguably asserting himself as their most consistent forward since Papu and Zapata are in a lull and have not hit the net in the last five games, but it would be wrong to count them out. The Colombian duo will likely be featured after resting midweek. The coaching staff has been very slow in giving minutes to Aleksey Miranchuk even though he scored in two of his three appearances. Robin Gosens came back from his injury and was a fury against both Spezia and Liverpool.

Recommended picks: Muriel, Zapata, Gosens.  

Verona: they created a decent amount of chances versus Sassuolo but did not cash in and, on top of that, they lost Nikola Kalinic for a while. Andrea Favilli is hurt as well, so they will have to rely on Samuel Di Carmine, who has had some moments in the past but is not at the same level as the former Atletico Madrid forward. Speedsters Ebrima Colley and Eddie Salcedo will also get their chances and you can certainly score on Atalanta. Antonin Barak bagged three of their four most recent goals and will be back in his usual role with Marco Faraoni likely coming back. Federico Dimarco was supremely active in the last game and good-looking youngster Ivan Ilic hit the post with a snapshot, but Miguel Veloso could be ready for more minutes this week. Mattia Zaccagni was unaffected by the recent small injury and once again created few chances, but did not take home an assist this time.

Recommended picks: Barak, Zaccagni, Dimarco.

 

MILAN-FIORENTINA

Milan: Ztalan Ibrahimovic carried the team once again with a stupendous display in Naples, but he will be forced to miss some time with a thigh injury. Rafael Leao is out as well, so it will be Ante Rebic handling the centre-forward position and he is coming off his best display in a while, crowned with a great assist. He was extremely streaky in the past campaign, but an elbow sprain hindered him in the current one. Jens Petter Hauge put his name in the stat-sheet last week and he and Brahim Diaz will be tasked to fill in on the left wing: the Norwegian winger has the potential to be pretty prolific. Without the top dog, everybody will have to turn it up for make up for the giant missing production, starting with Hakan Calhanoglu, who has been faring decently but with no end product. Samu Castillejo will get some run because Alexis Saelemaekers is hurt, but he has been underwhelming. Theo Hernandez had his best performance of the season at the San Paolo stadium. Franck Kessie is now definitely going to take PKs.

Recommended picks: Rebic, Hauge, Calhanoglu.

Fiorentina: new coach and new formation in the Benevento tilt, but same slowpoke rhythm and their scoring opportunities were numbered. On top of that, Franck Ribery and Giacomo Bonaventura suffered small injuries and are questionable for this game: they would be forced to re-think the XI if they were both sidelined. The ex-Milan man was slated to play as no.10, a role where he could really thrive, before being pulled from the XI: Gaetano Castrovilli moved to that spot, but he had troubles getting open and being fed. Cesare Prandelli used Christian Kouame and Dusan Vlahovic together, the former on the flank, but with meager returns, even though the Serbian youngster had their lone big chance. Cristiano Biraghi looked awful as pure left-back, while Pol Lirola was pretty good on the other flank. Another schematic tweak could be in the cards in this one, but it will hinge on the recoveries. Castrovilli has not been very consistent but is by far their most trustworthy guy. Riccardo Saponara and Tofol Montiel could benefit from the absences.

Recommended picks: Castrovilli, Vlahovic, Bonaventura/Kouame.

 

NAPOLI-ROMA

Napoli: their offense looked all jammed up against Milan, maybe because of the solidity of the opponents, but it is something that has happened few times in the season even though they surely do not lack talent and pace up front. Dries Mertens pounced on one of the few chances they created, returning to the box-score after a lengthy absence for his standards. Hirving Lozano and Matteo Politano featured together, which is a rarity, and were both lively, but the Mexican winger has not found the target following third round (he did it four times in the early going). Victor Osimhen is working to be available and that would be a big boost as he adds a presence in the box that they do not have without him. Should he remain on the mend, the coach might go with Andrea Petagna this time instead that with a very diminutive front-line: he had a good spell versus Milan despite being wasteful. Lorenzo Insigne came crashing down after looking great with the Azzurri and he has scored just twice so far.

Recommended picks: Mertens, Lozano, Politano.

Roma: differently from the opponents, there is not any uncertainty about their design, plus Edin Dzeko (three goals) will most likely be back after COVID. Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been the best player in the League over the last three rounds as he has hit the net six times, making up for the lack of production on that front in the first few matchdays, where he had few assists. Borja Mayoral opened his tally against Parma but will now head back to a reserve role. Pedro has notched two goals and one helper in the last four matches, Leonardo Spinazzola instead has knocked one through and set up two teammates. Similar haul creatively for Jordan Veretout, while Lorenzo Pellegrini will be ready to handle more minutes after dealing with the virus. Rick Karsdorp had his first concrete contribution in the past match.

Recommended picks: Mkhitaryan, Pedro, Dzeko.

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