CROTONE-PARMA
Crotone: Simy returned to the stat-sheet after a couple of months with a PK against Sampdoria, notching his fourth goal of the season, but other than that it was a clear step back for them even though they put up more of a fight than the final result indicates. Emmanuel Riviere was mostly spared over the weekend and might start in this one to provide more punch, with Junior Messias moving to the midfield. The Brazilian fantasista has hit the net three times so far. They are hoping for good news on Ahmad Benali, otherwise Milos Vulic could return to the XI, and he dished an early assist, as Salvatore Molina might have picked up a small injury in the past game. Arkadiusz Reca added another quality performance to his resume being tackled in the box: he has one goal and two helpers in the season.
Recommended picks: Simy, Messias, Riviere/Vulic.
Parma: they too struggled over the weekend against Juventus, where their two forwards Andreas Cornelius and Gervinho were completely taken out of the game by the mighty opponents. Juraj Kucka had their lone dangerous attempts. Their top player behind Gervinho, who is out in this one, has been Hernani (three goals and two assists), while Jasmin Kurtic is trending positively recently. One of their three top midfielders might start on the bench in this one. Yann Karamoh came off the pine Saturday and he has not run away with the starting job despite the recent increased playing time, so Juan Brunetta is lurking behind him in the pecking order and both will have increased responsibilities sans Gervinho. Roberto Inglese has been as ineffective as his competitor Cornelius and they answer up front may have to come from the transfer market.
Recommended picks: Karamoh, Kucka, Kurtic/Hernani.
BOLOGNA-ATALANTA
Bologna: Roberto Soriano continues carrying the team on his back and notched his sixth goal against Torino, brilliantly fed by Emanuel Vignato, who has been slightly inconsistent but is getting acclimated in the top league. Musa Barrow (three goals, three assists) has okay numbers but he is boom-or-bust, while Rodrigo Palacio is not really a fantasy asset despite his role. Mattias Svanberg is generally their pivot that attacks the most, and he rattled the crossbar in the past match, but also Nicolas Dominguez hit the net recently. Their role is pretty restraining though. Takehiro Tomiyasu is back to having some value now that he is back playing as fullback, but it is not sure it will stick.
Recommended picks: Soriano, Barrow, Vignato.
Atalanta: no Papu but no problem for Atalanta, which detonated in the second half of the Roma contest thanks to the return to prominence of Duvan Zapata, who smashed one home, and especially Josip Ilicic, who bagged a dazzling goal and served two assists. Ruslan Malinovskyi and Matteo Pessina had absorbed the bulk of minutes left open by the exclusion of Alejandro Gomez before, but Ilicic simply has much more potential if he manages to avoid fitness problems. Luis Muriel netted his fifth goal of the bench and that is his designated role. Robin Gosens bagged his second goal of the last four rounds, so surely their outlook has changed dramatically within a week considering also the results against Fiorentina and Juventus.
Recommended picks: Zapata, Ilicic, Gosens.
SAMPDORIA-SASSUOLO
Sampdoria: they confirmed to be streaky one way or the other as they erupted against Crotone, where Jakub Jankto razzled and dazzled with his fourth goal of the season and the second assist, Fabio Quagliarella hit the net for the sixth time and Mikkel Damsgaard for his second. They patched things up with Antonio Candreva (three assists), but he will have to work his way back into the starting role because the Danish starlet has produced. Valerio Verre (two goals, two assists) has played the best among their second strikers up front, but the coach probably will not quit Gaston Ramirez. Antonino La Gumina got two starts in a row and has done okay, but he has not hit bullseye.
Recommended picks: Quagliarella, Jankto, Damsgaard.
Sassuolo: Domenico Berardi kept them alive late versus Milan with sixth goal, but they desperately need Francesco Caputo to round into shape to resume being the goal-scoring machine they were to open the season. He has been engulfed by defenders in his two stints off the bench and Giacomo Raspadori had the same problem in relief. With Filip Djuricic in a funk, Hamed Traore has climbed the hierarchies and he recently found paydirt. Jeremie Boga came off the bench well against Milan and he could explode in any given moment. Manuel Locatelli will be back from suspension.
Recommended picks: Berardi, Traore, Boga.
SPEZIA-GENOA
Spezia: Roberto Piccoli scored his first career goal against Inter, but other than that it was a pretty uneventful offensive day for the Aquilotti against Inter, as M’Bala Nzola and Emmanuel Gyasi were easily taken out of the game by the opponents. They will have an easier time in this one and Nzola has been a star so far (six goals) and Gyasi a decent second fiddle (one goal, three assists). Both Diego Farias and Kevin Agudelo were rested in that game, like also Tommaso Pobega (two goals) and Giulio Maggiore, perhaps to save energies ahead of a more feasible match-up. Depending on who starts, they are all mid-tier options. Simone Bastoni has dished three assists, Matteo Ricci two.
Recommended picks: Nzola, Gyasi, Farias/Agudelo
Genoa: the only way to go is up for them under the new regime and Davide Ballardini will probably switch things up compared to the incredibly unfashionable scheme they have been using the last few matches. They laid an egg in an inopportune time versus Benevento, but actually the offense has not been an issue even though they do not really have a go-to scorer. Marko Pjaca and Mattia Destro pace the team with three scores, Gianluca Scamacca is one behind, while Eldor Shomurodov, who has hit the net once, has arguably been the best performer eye-test wise. If Ballardini deploys his usual 4-3-1-2 scheme, offensive-minded fullbacks like Luca Pellegrini and Paolo Ghiglione (three assists) could take a little hit, while the more seasoned Davide Zappacosta and Domenico Criscito should be fine. The captain has returned from an injury and generally takes care of PKs. Using a trequartista might aid Miha Zajc and Goran Pandev.
Recommended picks: Pjaca, Scamacca, Shomurodov.
UDINESE-BENEVENTO
Udinese: after misfiring in all the previous matches, Kevin Lasagna lobbed it past the goalie in Cagliari to return to relevance. While Ignacio Pussetto, Rodrigo De Paul and Roberto Pereyra have all shined in their respective roles so far, they do have an opening up front as Gerard Deulofeu and Ilija Nestorovski have not fully taken the brass ring. Lasagna can be extremely streak and will be a very good option this week. Pussetto and De Paul have both found the target three times and Pussetto registered his second assist in Cagliari. Wingbacks Jens Stryger Larsen and Marvin Zeegelaar are decently involved but have not picked up bonuses so far.
Recommended picks: Lasagna, Pussetto, De Paul.
Benevento: two of their second-tier weapons willed them past Genoa as Roberto Insigne curled home his second goal of the year and Marco Sau buried a PK. Gianluca Lapadula and Gianluca Caprari are turning in good efforts but both of their slumps have become significant. Perparim Hetemaj dished an assist Sunday but it is a rarity and Artur Ionita is likely the best bet to break out among their midfielders, at least until Nicolas Viola is ready for a full complement of minutes. Iago Falque has had two good showings off the bench but he is back on the mend.
Recommended picks: Lapadula, Insigne, Caprari.
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