BOLOGNA-FIORENTINA
Bologna: Atalanta pummeled them despite a decent start, where Andreas Skov Olsen (2 goals, 2 assists) in particular challenged the opposing goalkeeper with some strikes from distance. Performance-wise, he is arguably outplaying his competitor Riccardo Orsolini (5/3), who, however, has more of a penchant for making the stat-sheet. Musa Barrow had hit the net in two in a row before the rout, assisted by Roberto Soriano (9/5) versus Torino, while Matthias Svanberg assembled a twofer in the Spezia game. They will lean hard on him in the midfield in this one since Nicolas Dominguez is out for the season and Jerdy Schouten is suspended. Rodrigo Palacio has dished two assists in the last five contests.
Suggested picks: Barrow, Soriano, Skov Olsen/Orsolini.
Fiorentina: the usual suspect Dusan Vlahovic buried a glorious PK in the Juventus match, improving to 17 goals in the campaign, eight of which coming in the last seven games. Franck Ribery (2/6) and Gaetano Castrovilli (5/3) logged another pretty good display, but the Serbian starlet has pretty much cannibalized all the scoring, as natural. Giacomo Bonaventura will return from suspension, and he has tallied one of the rare non-Vlahovic recent goals. Sofyan Amrabat is finally starting to look comfortable midfield, but he is more of a workhorse than an offensive contributor. Erick Pulgar (1/1) has more potential for his ability on set-pieces.
Suggested picks: Vlahovic, Ribery, Bonaventura.
NAPOLI-CAGLIARI
Napoli: Victor Osimhen (7/1) seems to have taken over the starting job, and understandably so since he has found the target in four of the last six games, but Dries Mertens (9/8) has remained relevant, making his presence felt also off the bench. Lorenzo Insigne (17/5) has scored four times in the same stretch, while Tiemoué Bakayoko found a rare goal versus Torino. Matteo Politano (9/4) hit paydirt while Piotr Zielinski (6/8) picked up an assist two games back as they continue to stay busy in the final third. Giovanni Di Lorenzo set up a teammate in the past match to improve to five helpers in the campaign, plus two goals.
Suggested picks: Osimhen/Mertens, Insigne, Zielinski.
Cagliari: their offense propelled them again versus Roma as Joao Pedro posted his second consecutive goal, so he has definitely gotten out of a small drought, and also teed up Charalampos Lykogiannis (3/2). Razvan Marin had a dazzling performance, but he is suspended for this one. Radja Nainggolan is back, but his last goal dates back to early March, although they do not have many intriguing options. Leonardo Pavoletti (3/3) made the stat-sheet three matches ago, while Giovanni Simeone (2/5) did not take advantage of his chance to start last week. Alberto Cerri has arguably had more success than El Cholito in his limited spurts.
Suggested picks: Pedro, Pavoletti, Nainggolan.
SASSUOLO-ATALANTA
Sassuolo: they did not have their top strikers Francesco Caputo and Giacomo Raspadori in the last game, but Domenico Berardi came through again, and he has been phenomenal since coming back from injury, posting three goals and one assist in three tilts. He is now up to 14 goals and five helpers in the campaign. Gregoire Defrel has not produced as much as their other injured center-forward, but there is some chance at least one of them comes back here, with Raspadori carrying the most appeal because Caputo has been sidelined for some time. Filip Djuricic (5/4) has not picked up bonuses in the last three matches after two straight assists, while Jeremie Boga (3/2) has looked very explosive at times, but the goal keeps eluding him. Maxime Lopez (2 goals) and Manuel Locatelli (3/1) have only some secondary value given their more defensive-minded role.
Suggested picks: Berardi, Djuricic Boga.
Atalanta: they continue to heap misery on the opponents, and Duvan Zapata and Ruslan Malinovskyi have been their top guys lately. The Colombian striker has found paydirt five times in the last six matches, while the Ukrainian playmaker has recorded four goals and six assists in the same stretch. Luis Muriel returned to the box-score after a mini-slump, improving to 19 goals in the season, plus seven assists. Remo Freuler (2/3) and Aleksey Miranchuk (3/1) also joined the goal-fest, but they are unlikely to gain much momentum. Robin Gosens (9/6) is back from suspension, and he set up a teammate in his last appearances.
Suggested picks: Zapata, Malinovskyi, Muriel.
UDINESE-JUVENTUS
Udinese: they somehow managed to bag four goals versus Benevento, but with just one of them coming from a striker, Jayden Braaf, his first of the campaign, who, however might miss this one with an injury. Rodrigo De Paul and Roberto Pereyra did not disappoint as they both dished two assists: they are both at seven in the season, but the former has hit the net eight times and the latter four. Tolgay Arslan registered the third goal of his campaign, Jens Stryger Larsen his second. The recent scorer who has better chances to keep it up is Nahuel Molina, who opened his tally and had teed up five teammates in previous appearances. Stefano Okaka is the healthiest body up front, but he has not made the stat-sheet since late February.
Suggested picks: De Paul, Pereyra, Molina.
Juventus: Alvaro Morata (9/9) equalized the Fiorentina contest off the bench, but he is not fully fit for this one ans Paulo Dybala is set to start. La Joya has alternated pretty good showings to quieter ones since coming back from injury. The bigger issues for the Bianconeri have been Cristiano Ronaldo’s weird swoon, as he has not delivered in three fixtures, also having with some big misses, and the absence of Federico Chiesa (8/8), who is not a lock to be at full speed for this one either. Juan Cuadrado has been on fire creatively and has registered four assists in the last four bouts. Dejan Kulusevski hit the net three games but and had some okay displays after that. Weston McKennie has fared better than Aaron Ramsey in recent matches.
Suggested picks: Ronaldo, Dybala, Cuadrado.
SAMPDORIA-ROMA
Sampdoria: they did not manage to crack Sassuolo’s back-line in a game where they did not have their leading scorer Fabio Quagliarella. The veteran, who has tallied 11 goals and four assists so far and has scored in three of the last five appearances, is expected to return, but it remains to be seen whether the recent problem will limit him. Balde Keita (5/1) has had a pair of solid displays, but he has not hit the net since mid-February, while Manolo Gabbiadini (2/2) has been a perfectly viable second banana. Antonio Candreva (5/6) has relented, failing to pick up offensive bonuses in the last six matches, while Jakub Jankto has found the target three matches back. Mikkel Damsgaard (2/4) has not fully exploited his increased opportunities.
Suggested picks: Gabbiadini, Quagliarella/Keita, Candreva.
Roma: differently from Damsgaard, Carles Perez has indeed seized the moment and notched a goal and assist versus Cagliari, although it was not enough to come away with a good result and he got hurt this week. His absence, alongside the likely one of Pedro, will likely keep the starters Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Lorenzo Pellegrini in the XI, unless Stephan El Shaarawy is fully ready to play. The former has not produced after his injury, the latter in a month. Fellow studs Jordan Veretout and Leonardo Spinazzola are out with injuries too and their replacements are not particularly palatable. Borja Mayoral instead has hit the net in two of the last four games.
Suggested picks: Mayoral, Pellegrini, Mkhitaryan.
TORINO-PARMA
Torino: they could not keep up with Napoli, which is hard for anybody these days, and their strikers have collectively struck out in the past two matches, although Antonio Sanabria and Andrea Belotti’s track record remains strong and Parma have given up a ton of goals lately. The former Betis forward has logged five goals and one assist in nine performances since joining in January, while Il Gallo is up to 12 and 6 in the season, with one in each category coming in the past four fixtures. Simone Zaza (6 goals) occasionally produces off the bench. They will have to make up for the absences of their two midfielders in this one, Rolando Mandragora and Simone Verdi, but the likely substitutes Sasa Lukic, Daniele Baselli, and Karol Linetty have not shown much lately. Cristian Ansaldi (1/4) and Wilfried Singo figure to be better choices thanks to their high activity level on the flanks.
Suggested picks: Sanabria, Belotti, Ansaldi.
Parma: they too will have to fill a big void as Dennis Man might miss the rest of the season. However, Valentin Mihaila (3 goals) and especially Gervinho (5/1) broke out of lengthy slumps versus Crotone, re-gaining some fantasy value. Hernani put another one in the bag, moving to seven goals in the campaign and catching Juraj Kucka in that regard, who has some chances to be back from injury in this one. Andreas Cornelius has gotten more minutes than Graziano Pellè in recent tilts, and he has staked his claim with one goal and four assists in the last six rounds. Jasmin Kurtic has lost some shine as he has not made the stat-sheet in four matches after a convincing spell.
Suggested picks: Mihaila, Hernani, Cornelius.
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