TORINO-FIORENTINA
Torino: they showed more fire in Davide Nicola’s debut on the bench and they were rewarded with a decent point versus Benevento. Simone Zaza put together a brace after striking out in the past two months and that should cement his status as Andrea Belotti’s partner moving forward, especially because Simone Verdi has been extremely unimpressive so far. Some reports suggest he might be tested in the midfield, maybe in lieu of Karol Linetty who was a pet player of the previous coach and has not done much so far. Belotti’s slump got pushed to seven matches, but he dished a fantastic assist for the late goal, the third one in recent games and the fifth total in the season. Wilfried Singo showed out as well and set up a goal, while Cristian Ansaldi got the nod on the left flank and he tends to be a big creative hub when available, however he is often banged up. Sasa Lukic is back to playing as box-to-box, which dents his value, but he had not produced even in other roles lately.
Recommended picks: Belotti, Zaza, Singo.
Fiorentina: Cesare Prandelli keeps adjusting the lineup and the latest experiment paid off as Giacomo Bonaventura bagged a stunning goal in a rare start. Something similar had happened before with José Maria Callejon, who had dished a helper, but then he was not confirmed in the XI, so it remains to be seen whether the latest iteration will stick, but the move to a more aggressive scheme seems permanent. Dusan Vlahovic continues to be on a tear and notched his sixth goal in the past eight contests and also Franck Ribery and especially Gaetano Castrovilli have shown better in the past two home games, even though bonus points keep eluding them. The role of the Italian prodigy also fluctuates a lot, affecting his involvement in the final third. The French ace and Cristiano Biraghi are their assist leaders with four in the campaign, but the fullback has cooled off after a strong stretch.
Recommended picks: Vlahovic, Bonaventura/Ribery, Castrovilli.
SPEZIA-UDINESE
Spezia: they had a strong offensive performance against Roma, but it was not enough to take home points. Roberto Piccoli nudged it home with a tap-in, but he got hurt and therefore, unless their star M’Bala Nzola recovers, it will be Andrej Galabinov leading the front-line in this one, looking to build on the three early goals he scored before getting hurt. He had an assist in that game. Diego Farias was finally clinical and managed to capitalize on his usual flurry of actions, while Daniele Verde delivered off the bench and might begin to gnaw at Emmanuel Gyasi’s minutes, who has been a cornerstone but rather quiet for few rounds in a row (one goal, four assists in the season). Tommaso Pobega (three goals) is banged up and was a late scratch for the past game, without him their most peppy midfielders are Nahitan Nandez and Giulio Maggiore, but neither has had as much success in the box as the Milan loanee. Matteo Ricci and Simone Bastoni, both capable playmakers in their respective roles, could return to XI after a run-in with COVID.
Recommended picks: Galabinov/Nzola, Farias, Verde/Gyasi.
Udinese: they are coming off a merely defensive match against Inter and so their attackers had a muted showing, but all in all the gambit paid off as they stopped the mighty opponents. Kevin Lasagna left the club as rumoured to join Verona, leaving a sizeable hole up front despite the fact he had not been super prolific up to this point. Ilija Nestorovski will pick up the slack until the newcomer(s) get acclimated: he has posted one goal and one assist in few appearances off the bench so far. Fernando Llorente is an interesting purchase but he has not been much of a scorer in years. Gerard Deulofeu returned to the starting lineup against the Nerazzurri and looked fine: they will probably rely more heavily on him now, hoping for better health and better performances. Roberto Pereyra has found the net twice in the past five matches, Rodrigo De Paul (four goals, one assist) recently snapped out of a month-long scoring drought and they remain head and shoulders their best assets.
Recommended picks: Pereyra, De Paul, Deulofeu.
CAGLIARI-SASSUOLO
Cagliari: no end in sight for the Sardinians’ crisis, who failed to score for the third match in a row versus Genoa and therefore also the stud Joao Pedro (ten goals, two assists) is losing steam in the fantasy game as result of their collective blah form. Giovanni Simeone keeps sputtering, Leonardo Pavoletti was unusable last week due to back pain but could be an option, and perhaps will start, in this one. Nahitan Nandez will be out again due to suspension, which should lead to the exuberant Riccardo Sottil returning to the XI, but it depends on what scheme they use. Among the newcomers, Alfred Duncan has looked sprier than Radja Nainggolan: they are going back and forth with the role of the latter, but he needs to fully get his legs underneath him before being an option, no matter how offensive his position is. Razvan Marin is slightly on the rise but the mood of the team is affecting everybody. Charalampos Lykogiannis has produced decently offensively but has struggled mightily on the other end.
Recommended picks: Pedro, Sottil/Pavoletti, Duncan.
Sassuolo: they faded after a strong start versus Lazio, but the initial push led to Francesco Caputo returning to the stat-sheet after a four-game absence and he could be able to build some momentum thanks to the favorable match-up. With Domenico Berardi missing, the members of the supporting cast have taken turns: Filip Djuricic has logged one successful PK and one assist in the last two outings and he is returning to his pre-COVID levels, Gregoire Defrel has scored a pair of pretty goals but he is banged up, while Hamed Traore has been pretty consistent. Jeremie Boga has been extremely boom-or-bust so far, but at least he should be able to handle more minutes in this one as he was affected by an injury last week and they tend to lean on him when he is out there.
Recommended picks: Caputo, Djuricic, Traore/Boga.
CROTONE-GENOA
Crotone: they made it a game in the second half against Fiorentina thanks to Simy scoring for the second match in a row, but they might have lost their cornerstone Junior Messias due to an ankle injury. Emmanuel Riviere is questionable as well, so the options to replace him are scarce and surely not as intriguing. They could thrown in newcomer Samuel Di Carmine right away or back-ups Luca Siligardi or Denis Dragus could get the start, or they could opt to advance Ahmad Benali, who finally made his return in the past game, albeit only for a cameo. He was extremely prolific for a midfielder in previous season, but he has been hindered by physical problems thus far. Milos Vulic has been going strong in that role lately, but the two should be able to co-exist if the coach opts for that rout. Pedro Pereira recorded his third assist last week, while the other wing-back Arkadiusz Reca is at five.
Recommended picks: Simy, Vulic/Benali, Reca.
Genoa: Mattia Destro delivered once again after missing one with an injury and found the target for the sixth time in his past seven appearances versus Cagliari. They have become a rather defensive side under Davide Ballardini and the Italian striker has vacuumed up almost all of the scoring lately. Their other top contributors in recent matches have been Miha Zajc, who has been rejuvenated by the coaching change and has been pretty active in the final third, and Eldor Shomurodov (two goals, one assist in the season), whose growth has been steady. Kevin Strootman has been faring well since joining and he teed up Destro at the end of an offensive foray in the past match. Davide Zappacosta has not picked up offensive bonuses in a long time but he has been exuberant on the right flank recently.
Recommended picks: Destro, Shomurodov, Zajc.
NAPOLI-PARMA
Napoli: they struck within seconds versus Verona, with Hirving Lozano logging his ninth goal, but then they did not do much offensively and the opponents rallied back. Victor Osimhen finally returned but did not look particular great, although it was an off-game for the whole team, and some rust is understandable after a long time on the shelf. Dries Mertens has not showed well in recent appearances either due to a lingering ankle injury. Lozano has been a force and also Lorenzo Insigne has been productive as he has hit the net five times in the last six matches and they will continue to carry the team until the star teammates round into form, while Andrea Petagna has been more hit-and-miss (two goals and one assist in the last eight stars) and is set to lose playing time. Piotr Zielinski has been capable of spectacular outings but he has also had few duds in between and has not been as consistent as the other attackers. Diego Demme has made the box score with a goal and assist in the last two tilts while filling in for Fabian Ruiz.
Recommended picks: Lozano, Insigne, Zielinski.
Parma: after a pretty encouraging match versus Sassuolo, they struggled again versus Sampdoria, which do not have particularly superb back-line. They have scored just twice in the last eight matches, in both cases with Juraj Kucka, so they are clearly not a fantasy destination. Andreas Cornelius has been running unopposed since Roberto Inglese has been sidelined but he keeps looking for his first goal and he has not had many chances. Gervinho is the tip of the spear, and he has put together a couple of braces in the season, but his signature burst has not been there so far. Yann Karamoh got hurt again and they have been reluctant in giving big minutes to Juan Brunetta and Valentin Mihaila, so their offensive options are numbered until they do something in the transfer market. Without the contribution of the strikers, their two other fantasy leaders have been Hernani (three goals, two assists) and Jasmin Kurtic (one goal, two assists) despite not so eye-catching numbers. The former plays in a less dynamic role now under Roberto D’Aversa, while Alberto Grassi has gotten some run thanks to the absences.
Recommended picks: Kucka, Gervinho, Kurtic.
How well do you know Italian football? Do you want to battle the best Serie A Fantasy Managers? Play fantasyseriea.com now!
To leave a comment, you must be logged into www.eurofantasyleague.com