BOLOGNA-SAMPDORIA
Bologna: Roberto Soriano found the target again versus Napoli, moving to eight goals in the season, plus five assists. He is back in the fantasy elite after some quiet weeks, as he has scored in two of the past four games. Rodrigo Palacio did not make the stat-sheet, but he played a great game, so the duel with Musa Barrow (5 goals, 5 assists) could be back on since the youngster has not fully delivered as false nine. They can feature together, but Nicola Sansone has been tremendous on the left flank lately (2 goal, 2 assists in the last six contests). Andreas Skov Olsen outshined Riccardo Orsolini in the past game, but neither has fully broken out since they started divvying up minutes. Mattias Svanberg and Nicolas Dominguez are worth a flier as they have more offensive upside than Jerdy Schouten and Andrea Poli.
Suggested picks: Soriano, Sansone, Barrow/Palacio.
Sampdoria: Manolo Gabbiadini resurfaced with a missile in the Cagliari game for his first goal of the season after an injury-ravaged first part of the season. Balde Keita and Fabio Quagliarella have gotten few starts together in a row, but they have not really been consistent, the former in particular has slowed down after a torrid stretch. Gabbiadini and also Gaston Ramirez, who is coming off his third assist of the last seven matches, will remain in the mix and the value of their attackers does not seem particularly tied to who starts and who does, as few have been able to do damage off the bench. That has been often the case for Mikkel Damsgaard, who should be past the illness that limited him last week. Antonio Candreva (4 goals, 6 helpers) has been busy setting up teammates too, while Jakub Jankto (4/3) has not picked up offensive bonuses since mid-December.
Suggested picks: Keita, Candreva, Gabbiadini/Ramirez.
PARMA-ROMA
Parma: three goals were not enough for the to best Fiorentina, but they have surely turned the corner up front over the last few rounds and they have recovered most of its pieces too. Juraj Kucka clocked in again but he is suspended for this one. Since he was playing as false-nine, they will have some choices to do, as they could go with either a light attack now that Gervinho (4 goals, one assist) is back, or trust one of their hobbled center-forwards Joshua Zirzkee, Graziano Pellè or Andreas Cornelius. Roberto Inglese instead went back on the shelf. Gervinho and Cornelius have not been super productive but they only recently built a credible offense. Valentin Mihaila scored in Florence and he and Yann Karamoh (2 goals) have been pretty impressive, while Dennis Man is still getting acclimated. Hernani has scored twice lately and has been solid throughout the season, but he is a little banged up. They would have to rely a lot more on Jasmin Kurtic sans both Kucka and Hernani.
Suggested picks: Karamoh, Mihaila, Gervinho/Hernani.
Roma: a Gianluca Mancini goal was enough to down Genoa, as their attack continued their so-so output despite changing its pieces since Pedro and Stephan El Shaarawy drew the start. The two have alternatively fared well either in Serie A or Europa League and have value while they navigate through absences. While he might not have as many opportunities to score in that role, he will handle the ball more and he dished his sixth assist in the past match. Henrikh Mkhitaryan looked good last week but he is probably out with a calf injury. Borja Mayoral has not hit the net in a minute so Edin Dzeko is set to re-claim the starting job, maybe as soon as this round depending on his physical conditions. Leonardo Spinazzola (2 goals/4 assists) and Rick Karsdorp (one/5) continue to be very valuable contributors.
Suggested picks: Pellegrini, El Shaarawy/Pedro, Dzeko/Mayoral.
TORINO-INTER
Torino: Antonio Sanabria buried a banger versus Crotone and he should quickly find his way to the starting lineup since Simone Zaza (3 goals) and Federico Bonazzoli (2 goals) were underwhelming and Simone Verdi (one goal/4 assists) seems to be stuck in a bench role. Few players that have had COVID are returning, including their star Andrea Belotti, but there is no telling in what kind of shape they will be after the time off. Rolando Mandragora scored an opportunistic goal in the past game and he has been surprisingly effective despite the role since switching side, as he had tallied an assist in the previous game. Tomas Rincon is suspended, which will open the door to more proactive midfielders like Daniele Baselli and Karol Linetty. Cristian Ansaldi got saddled by some maluses due to the defensive collapse in Crotone, but he dished two assists, reaffirming his playmaking prowess.
Suggested picks: Sanabria, Ansaldi, Verdi.
Inter: they mostly won the Atalanta clash through impeccable defending, and a center-back even found the target, so it was be a rough game for their star strikers Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez, who were left stranded and engulfed by the opponents. They will be better fed in this one and they are both in fine form as the Belgian striker has recorded five goals and five assists over the last seven matches, while El Toro four and two. Alexis Sanchez is also humming with three goals of the last three appearances, if they decided to go that route. While Achraf Hakimi has declined, registering one assist over the past nine matches (but he benefits from defensive bonuses), Ivan Perisic (2 goals, 4 assists) has come on strong on the other flank. Arturo Vidal unseated Christian Eriksen in the previous match and, while the Dane had not fully blossomed, he surely has more fantasy-upside. Marcelo Brozovic and Nicolò Barella are also going through a quiet spell, but they will likely be involved if they manage to pile on the opponent.
Suggested picks: Lukaku, Martinez/Sanchez, Perisic.
CAGLIARI-JUVENTUS
Cagliari: Radja Nainggolan finally broke the seal with a piledriver from distance and they will certainly hope he can go on a run now. He always enjoys going against Juventus too. Joao Pedro showed up as per usual versus Sampdoria, netting his 13th goal of the campaign and the second in the past three matches, definitely putting behind a little drought. Leonardo Pavoletti is suspended for this one, so Giovanni Simeone will only have to compete with Alberto Cerri, but he has not scored since late October. Also Charalampos Lykogiannis is disqualified and he is always a mid-sized weapon: among the possible replacements, Gabriele Zappa is pretty good as well, while Kwadwo Asamoah has understandably not looked great thus far. Nahitan Nandez is loving life on the flank and he is turning into a threat with his all-around game, while Razvan Marin is up to three assists in the season with a recent contribution in that regard.
Suggested picks: Pedro, Nainggolan, Nandez.
Juventus: the repercussions of the Porto clash that went to overtime loom large over their physical shape for this match. Alvaro Morata excelled in the previous one with a glorious brace while filling in for Cristiano Ronaldo and Federico Chiesa (7 goals, 6 assists) is on absolute tear. Even if they wanted to rotate, their squad is not particularly deep, so it will likely be the usual suspects carrying them. CR7 had bagged four goals in three matches before being mostly spared versus Lazio. Dejan Kulusevski and Weston McKennie will likely be candidates to make the XI and, while they both have fantasy potential, they have been subpar over the past two months. Juan Cuadrado looked great midweek and he has been a prolific assist-man in League play as well, while Adrien Rabiot has quite surprisingly made the stat-sheet twice over the last two matches. Federico Bernardeschi could be worth minor consideration if they change a lot as he has been energetic in his last cameos.
Suggested picks: Ronaldo, Morata, Chiesa.
MILAN-NAPOLI
Milan: while they wait for news on their injured players, two new contributors carried them in the difficult match versus Verona, as Rade Krunic and Diogo Dalot found the target for the first time in the campaign. While Dalot will likely cede his spot to the returning Theo Hernandez (4 goals/4 assists), Krunic could stick as Hakan Calhanoglu remains iffy. Zlatan Ibrahimovic will probably skip another one, while Ante Rebic and Mario Mandzukic have more chances, but only the former (5/3) is on the radar. Brahim Diaz and especially Rafael Leao have not taken advantage of the increased opportunities up to this point, as a matter of fact the Portuguese youngster has not hit the net in eight appearances. On the other hand, Alexis Saelemaekers has enjoyed the higher usage and dished two assists over the past three matches. Franck Kessie (9 goals) is always a good option.
Suggested picks: Kessie, Hernandez, Saelemaekers.
Napoli: Lorenzo Insigne continued with his scorching-earth campaign with a brace and he has now tallied four goals over the last five tilts, then Victor Osimhen joined the party with a tremendous scamper for his first goal since November. All their weapons are coming back as also Hirving Lozano is close. Piotr Zielinski has been their second-best guy lately as he has taken home points in five straight, logging two goals and two assists. Dries Mertens has been hot-and-cold in the past three games even though he returned with a bang from his injury. He is likely set to alternate with Osimhen. Matteo Politano (7 goals, 3 assists) has been silent in the last two but overall he has been solid while replacing Lozano.
Suggested picks: Insigne, Zielinski, Osimhen/Mertens.
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