Serie A Player Status Updates – Week 1

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Even though it is just the first match day, teams are already dealing with a number of injuries.

Juventus: Leonardo Spinazzola tore his ACL in Spring and will be out until October at best. Mattia De Sciglio is dealing with a minor muscular problem.

Napoli: Alex Meret fractured a finger a couple of weeks ago and will miss at least the first game. Faouzi Ghoulam is expected to resume practicing in a month after a follow-up procedure on his broken kneecap. Amin Younes tore his Achilles tendon right before the summer and it is unclear how long he will be out for. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Predictions – Week 1

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Serie A is finally here after a compelling transfer market window.

Chievo-Juventus: Cristiano Ronaldo will debut in Verona, a city where the Old Lady has had a lot of success, winning in the last six trips. There is obviously a lot of curiosity to see how Massimiliano Allegri will feature the Portuguese ace and whether he will be quick to adapt to the new scenario. Paulo Dybala and Douglas Costa have looked good in pre-season, while Mario Mandzukic was late to the party. Continue reading

Serie A stars flop with Serbia and Poland

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The review the Serie A’s player showings in Russia continue with two teams who got a lot of attention over here: Serbia and Polonia. The first one because of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Lazio’s crown jewel, who could be involved in a massive transfer this summer, the second because it was the national team with the most player coming from the Italian League. It is fair to say that they did not live up to the expectations in both cases.

The star midfielder had a positive debut against Costa Rica, where once again he dispensed classy plays, but faded in the next two games, where he was unable to get it going. Continue reading

Serie A Best Team to Pick – Round 37

FC Torino v AC Milan - Serie A

A crucial Serie A is on the horizon, here are the proposed players to select.

Thomas Strakosha: stopping Crotone’s strikers is not the easiest task, but he is coming off a monster performance against Atalanta.

Joao Cancelo: Sassuolo have hit the net very frequently in the most recent matches, but they have achieved their seasonal target in the last match. The Portuguese left back has also always a decent chance of picking up extra points on offence.  Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Game Predictions – Round 36

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The top teams will try to avoid some trap games in the next round.

Juventus-Bologna: the Bianconeri responded in a big way after the loss in the Napoli clash, even though they could have probably handled the Inter game better. Anyway, the dramatic win in the Derby d’Italia gave them a big lift in the title race. They will be without Miralem Pjanic and likely Mario Mandzukic in this one. Gonzalo Higuain resumed scoring and Paulo Dybala had a positive cameo, while Douglas Costa continues to be their star. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Game Predictions – Round 35

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The next round includes two monumental games for the title contenders and a few other interesting fixtures.

Roma-Chievo: the Giallorossi have easily prevailed in their last two games against Genoa and Spal before being thumped by Liverpool. The Flying Donkeys have shown some fight against Inter and Napoli have and tied with Spal and Torino, but they need to pick up three points sooner rather than later to solidify their position. They have lost in ten of their last 12 away games. Continue reading

Serie A Best Team to Pick – Round 35

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Another pivotal Serie A round is approaching, here are the recommendable players to pick.

Alisson: Roma have kept three clean sheets in the last four games and they have a decent chance to do it again against Chievo, which have been sprightlier than usual lately, but have been extremely poor on the road this season.

Bartosz Bereszynski: the reliable Polish right back could take advantage of a cozy match-up for Sampdoria, as they will host a Cagliari team that has been defeated in three of their last four road games, failing to score in the last two.

Continue reading

Serie A Player Status Updates – Round 32

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Here are the latest updates on few players’ conditions heading into the next Serie A matchday.

Juventus:  Mattia De Sciglio was taken out of the Real Madrid match due to an apparent plantar fascia lesion that will require further testing. Federico Bernardeschi and Andrea Barzagli are working their way back from a knee sprain and an abdominal strain and practiced partially this week, but they will likely not be available this week.

Napoli: Mario Rui is suspended, no other absentees other than the usual one, Faouzi Ghoulam.

Continue reading

Serie A Best Team To Pick – Round 32

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A titillating Serie A round is coming up, here are the suggested players to select.

Antonio Mirante: Bologna are not the most trustworthy team, but Verona have failed to score in their last four away games, so he could be a decent pick. His season has been solid but unspectacular as usual.

Cristiano Biraghi: Fiorentina have kept five clean sheets in the last six outings and they will take on Spal this week, which is a gutsy team but not certainly an untameable beast. He is also no stranger to doing damage on offence.

Daniele Rugani: the Juventus back-line has conceded in the last two games, but they have allowed only five goals so far at home and they will face Sampdoria, which is surely less-than-formidable on the road. He has been dependable this season and he could get a chance to start in the midst of a busy stretch of the schedule. In fact, any Bianconero defender is worth considering.

Ervin Zukanovic: the Bosnian centre-back is having an OK season and Genoa will face Crotone, which are suspect on the road.

Adem Ljajic: the Serbian attacker has won the coach over and he has been extremely effective lately, either scoring or assisting in the last three games. Their three-headed attack is humming. Torino will visit the floundering Chievo on Saturday.

Dries Mertens: he is a in little scoring slump, but he will try to snap out of it in San Siro against Milan, which will be without their starting pair of centre-backs Leonardo Bonucci and Alessio Romagnoli.

Luis Alberto: he has put his name in the scoresheet in the last two showings and assisted against Bologna, so he has stayed prolific despite the dualism with Felipe Anderson. Roma’s defence has not been as staunch as at the beginning of the year lately.

Nicolò Barella: Cagliari will challenge the wavering Udinese, which have lost eight straight matches, in a key match-up. The youngster has been one of the few bright spots for the Sardinian this season

Giovanni Simeone: the determined striker has found the net in three straight matches, with some great goals as well. Spal’s defence is rather permissive and he can definitely be streaky.

Paulo Dybala: he is coming off a hat-trick in Benevento and he is a lock to start due to the suspension in the Champions League. He has recorded seven goals in the last six matches, finally looking like himself after a hamstring injury.

Matteo Politano: he is leading the charge for Sassuolo in a crucial part of the season and he has bagged two goals in the last three games, against very worthy opponents. This time, he will go against Benevento, which have lost every single road game so far this season, conceding a bunch of goals.

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Serie A Fantasy Game Predictions – Round 31

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An interesting Serie A round is coming up, let’s take a look at the most intriguing matches.

Benevento-Juventus: even though they are too far away from the positions that would allow them to avoid the drop, the Sanniti always perform well in front of their crowd, having won four of their last six games here. They were defeated only by Napoli and by Cagliari after a late comeback by the opponents. The Bianconeri quickly returned to winning ways after drawing against Spal as they defeated Milan last Saturday, helped by Sami Khedira and Juan Cuadrado.  Continue reading