BENEVENTO-CROTONE
Benevento: coach Filippo Inzaghi continues to go back-and-forth with the tactics, but he has not found a solution for their woes. They have collectively netted just one goal in the last three games, on a combination between Gianluca Caprari (5 goals, 6 assists) and Gianluca Lapadula (7/2). The Italo-Peruvian striker and Nicolas Viola (5/3) have been their only reliable contributors in their skid, and the latter is not necessarily a full-time starter. Adolfo Gaich has fallen into a slump after a positive start, while Roberto Insigne has not exploited his recent chances. Riccardo Improta continuously switches from position to position, making it hard to trust him. Artur Ionita is a secondary option thanks to a pair of recent goals.
Suggested picks: Lapadula, Viola, Caprari.
Crotone: their attack picked it up in the Monday night game versus Verona after struggling against Inter and Roma, powered by Adam Ounas (4/3), who scored and set up Junior Messias, who returned to the stat-sheet after six matches. Simy (19/2) has not hit the net in three games but provided an assist in the most recent games. The trio is clearly above everybody else in terms of fantasy appeal, especially with Arkadiusz Reca missing. Ahmad Benali (one assist), Luca Cigarini, and Salvatore Molina (1/4) cover meaningful roles but have not taken home bonuses in the recent appearances.
Suggested picks: Simy, Ounas, Messias.
UDINESE-SAMPDORIA
Udinese: they got manhandled in the last game, but at least they can rejoice for the fact that Stefano Okaka returned to the stat-sheet after an eternity, bagging his fourth goal of the campaign, as they are starving to get some contribution from their strikers. Rodrigo De Paul was credited a pretty generous assist, the ninth in the season, extending his streak of positive performance. Roberto Pereyra (4/7) is instead more uneven and has taken home some bonuses in just one of the last four. Nahuel Molina has become their third biggest weapon with two recent goals and a slew of helpers. Fernando Forestieri was fairly peppy off the bench in the last game, but they are not giving him a ton of minutes.
Suggested picks: De Paul, Okaka, Molina.
Sampdoria: Balde Keita has regained momentum with two consecutive goals, while Valerio Verre (3/3) fully took advantage of a rare start in the Spezia game despite playing in a less offensive role than usual. Their usual linchpins Fabio Quagliarella (11/1) and Antonio Candreva (5/6) have been quieter down the stretch, and Claudio Ranieri is rotating the squad quite a bit. Jakub Jankto (6/3) has found the target twice in the last six games, instead Mikkel Damsgaard (2/4) has remained silent. Manolo Gabbiadini has also abated as he has not come through in the last three matches.
Suggested picks: Keita, Verre/Quagliarella, Jankto/Candreva.
PARMA-SASSUOLO
Parma: they hung with Lazio thanks to sturdy defending, for a change, rather than for their dangerousness on offense. Their attack was down to bare bones since Gervinho picked up a last-minute injury. Graziano Pellè (1/2) and Juan Francisco Brunetta (1/2) did what they could, Andreas Cornelius (1/4) will likely be back in the XI for this one, but the situation is quite dire. Their midfield has carried their scoring for most of their season, but Juraj Kucka (7/2), Hernani (7/2), and Jasmin Kurtic (four goals) have combined for just two goals in the last six contests. Riccardo Gagliolo (2/2) and Maxime Busi would have some minor appeal if they confirmed the scheme they used last week.
Suggested picks: Cornelius/Pellè, Brunetta, Kucka.
Sassuolo: Giacomo Raspadori did it again in the Juventus clash, registering his fourth goal in the last four matches and the sixth total in the season. On the other hand, Domenico Berardi (16/5) missed a PK, which did not allow him to hit the net for the fourth consecutive game. Since Filip Djuricic (5/4) and Jeremie Boga (3/2) have been a little underwhelming and also banged in recent times, Hamed Traore (5/2) and Manuel Locatelli (3/2) have become their top contributors behind the two prolific attackers. It could be the right tilt for them to give some playing time to Francesco Caputo (11/5), who has not seen much action after shaking off an injury because of Raspadori’s effectiveness.
Suggested picks: Raspadori, Berardi, Traore.
MILAN-CAGLIARI
Milan: they produced the largest win in recent Serie A history versus Torino, powered by their usual stars. Ante Rebic (11/4) has been tremendous as false nine, Theo Hernandez (7/5) has been ungodly in the past two matches, Franck Kessie (11/4) atoned for a missed PK. Brahim Diaz has been a revelation in the last two fixtures, hitting the net in both and playing phenomenally. Their only mainstay that did not join the goal fest was Hakan Calhanoglu (4/9), who had delivered in the previous two outings, either scoring or setting up teammates. Even the rarely used Rade Krunic chipped in with two assists, so they are firing on all cylinders.
Suggested picks: Rebic, Brahim Diaz, Hernandez.
Cagliari: the lackadaisical effort in the Fiorentina game stopped their offensive momentum after four solid performances in a row. Joao Pedro (16/3) had found paydirt in three straight before the most recent game, while Leonardo Pavoletti (4/3) interrupted a little lull versus Benevento. Nahitan Nandez has made the stat-sheet in two of the last three tilts with one goal and two assists, and Razvan Marin has notched three helpers and scored twice in the last five appearances. They are surely not short on weapons, counting also the excellent play of Charalampos Lykogiannis (2/4) on the flank, but the match-up is quite daunting.
Suggested picks: Joao Pedro, Pavoletti, Marin
VERONA-BOLOGNA:
Verona: their center-forward continue wheezing as Kevin Lasagna (4 goals) and Nikola Kalinic have not cracked the box score in the last seven matches, where Eddie Salcedo has outproduced them with two recent goals. Federico Dimarco blasted home his fifth goal of the campaign over the weekend against Torino, and he has remained a dynamic weapon even if coming off the bench. Mattia Zaccagni (6/5) is stuck in a rut, Antonin Barak has been only marginally better with an assist and a goal in the last eight contests. Darko Lazovic (3/5) and Marco Davide Faraoni (2/7) have not been particularly superb either since they have collectively tailed off due to lack of motivation.
Suggested picks: Salcedo, Dimarco, Barak.
Bologna: the same could be said for the Felsinei, who, however, have had some occasional detonations in the second half of the season, especially the recent one versus Fiorentina, where Rodrigo Palacio put together a hat-trick, and Emmanuel Vignato dished three assists. The duo has not followed it up in the ensuing bouts, as their front-line was held in check by both Udinese and Genoa, scoring just through a PK buried by Riccardo Orsolini (6/3). Their linchpins Roberto Soriano (9/6) and Musa Barrow (8/8) are looking for a way out of their recent swoons. Mattias Svanberg (5/2) and Nicola Sansone (2/2) could be worth a flier if starting.
Suggested picks: Palacio, Barrow, Vignato/Soriano.
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