Serie A Best Fantasy XI – Round 37

Alessio Cragno (7 points): it was revenge of the defences in the penultimate round, as six teams managed to keep the clean sheet. Among their goalies, the Cagliari one stood out the most in the Juventus match, as he produced several great saves, with the best one coming on a late scorcher.

Danilo D’Ambrosio (9 points): Antonio Conte fielded him as tactical centre-back and the move panned out against Napoli as he was not shy in attacking despite the role and Napoli were outnumbered when it came to covering men, so he found himself wide-open in the box on a deep incursion and finished with aplomb. Continue reading

Serie A Best Fantasy XI – Round 31

Alessio Cragno (7 points): offenses generally bested defenses in the last matchday, so the clean sheets were numbered. It took him a minute, but the Cagliari goalie is finally looking like his old self and saved the day late with a great leap on a Christian Kouame header that was destined to the top corner.

Rafael Toloi (9 points): he often picked up assists this season and he has become an integral part of the Atalanta offense, but he had to go the extra mile against Sampdoria, as he bagged a perfectly executed thumping header to finally make the opponents late. Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round Three

Atalanta: Timothy Castagne will at least be called up after missing a month due to a torn meniscus, while Rafael Toloi and José-Luis Palomino both picked up a minor thigh injuries. There is more optimism about the Argentinian defender. 

Bologna: Danilo suffered a thigh strain and will miss at least a pair of matches.

Brescia: Ernesto Torregrossa hurt his quad against Milan and will likely miss few matches. Bruno Martella, who subbed early too, escaped without major calf complications but will still miss this one. Giangiacomo Magnani has not recovered from his thigh problem, while Andrea Cista is good to go after hurting his hand. Mario Balotelli is still suspended. Emanuel Ndoj needs to more time to return from ankle surgery.

Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round Two

Atalanta: Timothy Castagne will miss another one as he is recovering from a meniscus tear, but he should be ready after the break.

Bologna: no absentees for the Felsinei who will play tonight.

Brescia: Mario Balotelli continue serving his suspension, while Giangiacomo Magnani will miss another one too. Ernesto Torregrossa has recovered and might start. Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round 1

Atalanta: Josip Ilicic is a suspended, while Luis Muriel is sick, which will cost him a place in the XI but not the call-upTimothy Castagne had surgery to remove a torn meniscus and should miss the first two games.

Bologna: Jerdy Schouten picked up a knee sprain in the pre-season but he has recovered enough to be called up. 

Brescia: Mario Balotelli is disqualified for the first four fixtures, while Ales Mateju will sit out just the first one for the same reason. Emmanuel Ndoj is dealing with an ankle injury that will cost him some time. Andrea Cistana missed the recent Coppa Italia game for a similar, but smaller, issue, but could be back for the opening match. Daniele Dessena, Daniele Gastaldello have recovered from small injuries, while Giangiacomo Magnani and Ernero Torregrossa have been ruled out.  Continue reading

Assessing the goal keeper market in Serie A

Gianluigi-Donnarumma

 

With just three games left in the season, we can start looking to the summer transfer window. To get ready, let’s assess the market at each major position and the needs for the top teams in Serie A:

 

Juventus- all set with Szczesny at the starter position after he made the post Buffon season uneventful, Mattia Perin is recovering from an injury but expected back as backup

Napoli- Alex Meret has the potential to be the best keeper in club history, Ospina’s rights expected to be redeemed

Inter- Handanovic is still one of the elite keepers in the league but since he’s 34 time to look for a successor. Ionut Radu could be the heir apparent or a chip to make a plusvalenza, Brazao is expected to be at the summer retreat after finishing the season at Parma

Atalanta- Gollini replaced Berisha as the starter but the club could look for an upgrade especially if they qualify to Champions League

Milan- Donnarumma had a strong comeback season, Reina is the highest paid backup keeper in Serie A, Plizzari recently signed an extension

Roma- you have to wonder how many more points they would have had Mirante replaced Olsen sooner. But Mirante is also 35…

 

 

Alessio Cragno

 

The Cagliari keeper had a breakout season and you can make a case he was the best keeper in the league along with Sirigu in 2018-19. But unlike the Torino keeper, Cragno is just about to enter his prime since he’ll turn 25 and will have a significant market moving forward. Cragno could be a great fit at Roma as an immediate starter or he could be the long term replacement for Handanovic at Inter should they decide to cash on Radu. If Atalanta wanted to make a bold move, especially if they qualify for the Champions League, Cragno would be a wise investment since he would also have future resale value.

 

Ionut Radu

 

The Romanian keeper replaced Marchetti as the starter at Genoa last fall and quickly established himself as one of the best young keepers in the league. It will be interesting to see if Inter, who ultimately own his rights with a counter buy back option, decide to use him as a financial asset and turn him into a plusvalenza, or if they will be more gun shy after Zaniolo’s explosion at Roma. 

 

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Mattia Perin

 

Could the former Genoa keeper follow in Neto’s foot steps and decide to leave Juventus because the backup role isn’t fulfilling enough? Prior to his injury, Perin did little to show he was a serious threat to replace Szczesny as the starter, but because of his reputation he still has a significant market and could net Juventus a fairly significant plusvalenza since they acquired him for 12 million euro. Perin could be an enticing option for Atalanta and Fiorentina should they decide to cash in on Lafont.

 

Alban Lafont 

 

The FIFA superstar had an up and down debut season in Serie A. Not surprisingly he had his fair share of great saves, but he also cost his club numerous points with some significant blunders and poor ball distribution skills. But considering the dumpster fire season Fiorentina is about to complete and the excellent performances by Bartomiej Dragowski at Empoli while on loan, we could see a changing of the guard at the keeper position.

Lafont could still fetch a good profit for Fiorentina because of his reputation and the low price it took to acquire (around 8 million). He could be a fit at Roma or more likely at a club outside of Italy.

 

Juan Musso

 

The former Racing club keeper turned heads in his debut season in Serie A. His performances for Udinese earned him a selection to Argentina’s national team, assuming the Friulani don’t get relegated, it’s likely they’ll hold on to him at least another season to further increase his value (and lower his amortization cost).

Emil Audero

 

After the success of the Lucas Torreira deal, it’s not surprising to see Arsenal once again looking at Sampdoria. The Gunners have scouted the Indonesian born keeper multiple times this season, but in order to tempt Ferrero’s club, they must offer considerably more than the 20 million euro paid in January to redeem his rights from Juventus. 

Gigio Donnarumma

 

 Considering how long he has been in our lives, it’s hard to believe the Milan keeper is just twenty years old. Donnarumma has fully established himself as Buffon’s heir on the Azzurri and for a long stretch of the season, he was right there with Cragno and Sirigu as the best keeper in the league. 

Donnarumma also fixed his relationship with the club’s fan base, but his humongous salary and fact he would represent a massive plusvalenza at a time that Milan faces significant Financial Fair Play restraints (especially if they don’t qualify for the Champions League)

 

Serie A Club of the Round – Cagliari

cagliari

In a round where few top teams squared off against each other, Cagliari ended up having the most impressive outing of the weekend. They had a brutal record on the road thus far, but partly atoned in the match-up against Chievo, which at this point is a boon for everybody. They had won in the last three home matches, keeping the relegation strugglers at bay. Rolando Maran picked Cyril Thereau to replace the suspended Leonardo Pavoletti, recovered Luca Pellegrini on the left flank and confirmed Fabrizio Cacciatore over Darijo Srna on the other one. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Picks – Round 8

AC Milan v AS Roma - Serie A

Alessio Cragno: the upstart goalie has had a decent season so far and saved a penalty in the stoppage time in the last home game against Sampdoria. More importantly, Cagliari will host Bologna, which have yet to find the target on the road.

Romulo: Genoa have won all three of their home matches, conceding just once. On Sunday, they will square off against Parma, who was shut out in two of their three away fixtures and will be without Gervinho and perhaps Roberto Inglese as well.

Ola Aina: the newcomer was immediately thrusted into a big role because of the injuries of his teammates and he has held his own, bringing a lot of energy on the flanks. Frosinone has scored just once so far, on a penalty. Torino are coming off two straight clean sheets.  Continue reading

Serie A Player of the Month in May: Aleksandar Kolarov

kolarov

The limited number of games of the final month of the year allows for some funky stuff to happen, however, while the highest earner in May was unusually a defender, it was a fantasy stud, one of the most reliable players all year long: Roma’s left back Aleksandar Kolarov.

The top offensive players did not deliver big time down the stretch: the striker who was the closest to make the Team of the Month was SPAL’s Mirco Antenucci, who brought home 14 points thanks to three goals and an assist, but fell two points short of Memphis Depay and Martin Braithwaite. So the nod goes to the Serbia fullback, who amassed 15 total points thanks to three clean sheets in the last three games, against Cagliari, Juventus and Sassuolo.  Continue reading