Serie A Fantasy Preview – Round Ten – Top Matches

SPEZIA-LAZIO

Spezia: after few convincing performances and a couple of assists, winger Emmanuel Gyasi finally scored against Cagliari, becoming their tenth player to find the target, which is not abnormal given the size of their roster. M’Bala Nzola converted a late PK for his third goal of the season and Andrej Galabinov will have his work cut out for him when he will eventually come back. Since Kevin Agudelo has been a little banged up and Daniele Verde is hurt, Diego Farias has completed the trident and, while he has been very lively, he has had some major misses. The teammate should be in better shape this week. It is instead uncertain whether Tommaso Pobega (two goals) will be able to return, so it could be again Nahuel Estevez and Giulio Maggiore playing as box-to-box and they interpret the role in dynamic fashion. Simone Bastoni continues to surprise and picked up his second assist in the past game, while Salvador Ferrer worked his way back into the XI after an injury and he is their most proactive right-back.

Recommended picks: Nzola, Gyasi, Farias/Agudelo. 

Lazio: they laid a big egg against Udinese, where Ciro Immobile was the only one to save face with a penalty kick, posting his fifth goal in Serie A. They were evidently looking ahead given how well they performed in Dortmund. Sergej Milinkovic (two goals, one assist) made his return after COVID there. Before the faux-pas, their recent positive streak was fueled by Immobile and the late-game heroics by Felipe Caicedo (three goals), while Luis Alberto has yet to fully get it going this year: he has rifled one home, but he has not dished an assist, which used to be his specialty. Joaquin Correa has hauled in bonus points in two of the last three matches, scoring once and setting up a teammate. The coach has not rotated the XI much but, if he did, Andreas Pereira could be an interesting weapon and he is also pretty versatile. Manuel Lazzari has been the peppier among their wing-backs lately.

Recommended picks: Immobile, Correa, Milinkovic-Savic.

 

JUVENTUS-TORINO

Juventus: once again, they failed to take home the full loot against a minnow, as they were held to a tie in Benevento. Alvaro Morata found the back of the net but he was red-carded and therefore Paulo Dybala will get another shot from the start to try to bust out his slump: he fared better last week but squandered his opportunities. Cristiano Ronaldo will be back in the XI after getting the day and he has more goals than appearances so far. In the supporting cast, Federico Chiesa is on the rise as he had an assist in Benevento and a great display in Champions League midweek. Instead Aaron Ramsey and Dejan Kulusevski continue to split time and the situation has not benefitted either as they have both been quiet. Juan Cuadrado has teed up few teammates in the continental competition but that happened just once in domestic play. Alex Sandro is coming off a pretty good showing and they will be in position to make some choices on the flank for the first time in the season. The central midfielders instead generally do not participate much to the offense.

Recommended picks: Ronaldo, Chiesa, Dybala.

Torino: they had another pretty fecund day attacking-wise in the Sampdoria tilt, but once again their defence let them down. Andrea Belotti played through his knee issue and bagged his seventh goal of the season. Simone Zaza instead found the target in the previous match and the two have always formed a well-assorted pair. They will probably stick with the 3-5-2 formation even though they could technically use them and Simone Verdi together. The attacker provided an assist versus the Blucerchiati, but has generally showed better as second-striker than as no.10, while the new scheme has given them more solidity. Soualiho Meite has finally woken up and, after connecting with Zaza in San Siro, found paydirt on Monday with a header. He and Karol Linetty enjoy more freedom in this design and have some bonus potential. The recent revelations have been Wilfred Singo and Cristian Ansaldi, who have a very big role as wing-back and have made the most of it with their different styles.

Recommended picks: Belotti, Zaza, Meite.

 

INTER-BOLOGNA

Inter: they rested Romelu Lukaku last week but the gamble paid off as they snatched an impressive win over Sassuolo and then he showed up big time in Champions League. It might be Lautaro Martinez’s turn to sit in this one, but that will be known closer to the match. Their top three forwards are all in great form as the big Belgian had two braces in the past four appearances, El Toro has scored twice and picked up an assist in the last three Serie A matches and Alexis Sanchez found the target twice and set up a teammate in the most recent two. Roberto Gagliardini rounded out the score versus Sassuolo but other than that almost all their recent goals came from the strikers. Matteo Darmian has perked up with a goal and an assist in two consecutive starts, but Achraf Hakimi came off the bench very well in Moenchengladbach. More muted performances instead from the left wing-backs Ashley Young and Perisic in the last few matches. The return of Marcelo Brozovic is set to give more liberty offensively to Nicolò Barella and Arturo Vidal in a pure three-man midfield and the former has tallied three assists so far, but is also rumoured to be a little fatigued.

Recommended picks: Lukaku, Martinez/Sanchez, Barella/Gagliardini.

Bologna: Roberto Soriano once again stepped up for the Felsinei, solving a game that turned out to be trickier than expected with his fifth goal of the season (plus three assists). Riccardo Orsolini got hurt, so they will have to turn to Nicola Sansone and Emanuel Vignato and neither has gotten consistent enough playing time to make a peep up to this point. The youngster has the highest upside but they will probably go the veteran route at first. Musa Barrow has made it to the box-score in one of the last rounds but has not been able to fully follow it up and is lacking consistency compared to his great second half of the previous season. They surely could use a second reliable scorer behind Soriano, especially now sans Orsolini, and, while Rodrigo Palacio is a can opener for everybody else, having the main centre-forward at just one goal is not great. Matthias Svanberg has notched one goal and one assist but Gary Medel and Andrea Poli have shaken off their injuries and will resume challenging him, especially in more demanding games.

Recommended picks: Soriano, Barrow, Palacio.

 

ROMA-SASSUOLO

Roma: they capitulated in surprising fashion against Napoli considering how well they were playing and they will be in for another tough match-up. Edin Dzeko (three goals) returned following COVID and did not look great, but he is set to be in better form in this one. Henrikh Mkhitaryan is in the midst of a spectacular run as he had scored five goals in the previous two matches and he also has four assists in the season. Pedro has cooled off just a little as he has not hit the net in the last three fixtures, but he provided a helper and his seasonal numbers are impressive. They may not have Jordan Veretout because of a thigh injury and that would be a major loss. Lorenzo Pellegrini has been a little underwhelming since permanently moving to pivot, while Leonardo Spinazzola (one goal, one assist) is always a thorn in the opponents’ side. Bruno Peres has done a little better than his competitors in the committee on the right flank.

Recommended picks: Mkhitaryan, Pedro, Dzeko.

Sassuolo: they too are coming off a stinker, the first in the season, as Inter hit them early and hard. The absence of Francesco Caputo is beginning to be hurtful as Giacomo Raspadori is having problems finding room among defenders. The reports are not promising for this week either, therefore the leader of the pack will once again be Domenico Berardi (four goals, three assists), while Jeremie Boga will be looking to follow up the great goal he had two weeks ago. Filip Djuricic is poised to bounce back as the first appearances after COVID has been rough for everybody: he has found the target three times in total. Maxime Lopez and Manuel Locatelli have both been very steady, like left-back Rogerio, but their role in the offense is only ancillary.

Recommended players: Berardi, Djuricic, Boga.

 

SAMPDORIA-MILAN

Sampdoria: they have gone in the wrong direction in the last month after getting off to a positive start, but they have managed to score most matches anyway. Antonio Candreva had his best display of the season versus Crotone, where he hit the net for the first time and provided his third assist. Fabio Quagliarella returned to the stat-sheet after a three-game absence, while the coach is making some experiments as far as his partner is concerned since Gaston Ramirez has been ineffective. Valerio Verre did not fully exploit his chance, while Mikkel Damsgaard (one goal, one assist) has been the most explosive but they are using him in small doses. It will probably be Manolo Gabbiadini coming out on top once he will be in better physical conditions. Jakub Jankto is not the most consistent player but can have some hot stretches. The sneaky Morten Thorsby has hit the net twice. Left-back Tommaso Augello is usually a handful for the enemies.

Recommended picks: Quagliarella, Candreva, Jankto.

Milan: it would be miraculous, and a little crazy, if Zlatan Ibrahimovic managed to return this week and, while Ante Rebic is poised to fill in at no.9, it will be again a collective effort to make up for the absence of the Swedish ace. Last week, Alessio Romagnoli scored on a corner kick and Franck Kessie nailed (but also missed) a PK. His numbers are beginning to look pretty good considering his fairly defensive-role as he has notched three goals and two assists. Hakan Calhanoglu continues to take aim and to be a little unlucky with his attempts: even though he has not found the target, his level of performance has improved lately. Brahim Diaz and Jens Petter Hauge have alternated in the open spot in the front-line, but neither has run away with the starting job. Hauge scored in Naples. Alexis Saelemaekers (one goal) shook off his ankle injury, but he is more of a complementary piece. Theo Hernandez instead is heating up and has been a force to be reckoned with in recent outings.

Recommended picks: Rebic, Calhanoglu, Kessie

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