Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round 22

Atalanta: Josip Ilicic is dealing with some thigh soreness but there is optimism it is nothing serious. Timothy Castagne resumed practicing after some knee pain and Lennart Czyborra is available as well following a contracture. Tomas Sutalo will miss time with a navicular bone edema. 

Bologna: Takehiro Tomiyasu is suspended. Nicola Sansone should be fine after some muscle fatigue and Stefano Denswil is on track to return from a thigh problem. Gary Medel (thigh) and Ladislav Krejci (knee) are poised to remain on the shelf.

Brescia: Mario Balotelli will finish serving his two-game suspension. Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round 21

Atalanta: Timothy Castagne is out with a sore knee for the second week in a row. 

Bologna: Mattia Bani and Nicola Sansone are suspended. Stefano Denswil and Gary Medel and Ladislav Krejci (knee) remain sidelined.

Brescia: Mario Balotelli was slapped with a two-game suspension. Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round 18

Atalanta: Duvan Zapata has resumed practicing fully after his complicate thigh injury and he is fully expected to be available against Parma, but the capacity remains to be determined. Pierluigi Gollini is dealing with the flu.

Bologna: Blerin Dzemaili is under the weather and is out, Federico Santander has recovered from a tibia bruise, while Ladislav Krejci will likely miss another one with a sore knee.

Brescia: Alfredo Donnarumma and Emanuele Ndoj are on the wrong side of questionable due to muscular problems. Bruno Martella joined the long list of sick players this week.  Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round 17

Atalanta: Alejandro Gomez and Josip Ilicic are expected to return from the ailments that held them out last week, barring late setbacks, while Duvan Zapata has commenced working to be available for the first game of 2020.

Bologna: Danilo is suspended. Roberto Soriano should be back from a knee contusion that sidelined him for a while, while Ladislav Krejci is out for the same kind of injury, joining Blerin Dzemaili, who picked up a thigh one. 
Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round 15

Atalanta: Duvan Zapata flew back to Sevilla after further checks on his thigh and now it is unlikely that he will return before January. Marten De Roon and Simon Kjaer are questionable because of knee soreness and muscle fatigue respectively.

Bologna: Gary Medel is suspended. Mitchell Dijks underwent further tests on his injured second toe and he will be sidelined for two-for-three months. Roberto Soriano is unlikely to be back from his knee edema. Mattia Bani, Blerin Dzemaili and Ladislav Krejci picked up some dings and bruises in the Coppa Italia game: the left-back did not make the squad list, while the two centre-backs are available.  Continue reading

Serie A Round 8 Fantacalcio Player Trends: Stock Down

The international break came and went and gave us fantacalcio managers some much-need time to step away from our teams and evaluate where it’s all gone wrong…or right! However, don’t get too comfortable as the next game-week is already upon us. Lazio will be hosting Atalanta in what promises to be an exciting clash, while Stefano Sensi returns to Sassuolo with Inter. Otherwise, Juventus take on a fiery Bologna side at the Allianz Stadium.

With match-day eight upon us, here are FIVE players you should consider dropping from your fantacalcio side. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Allan (MID, Napoli, Value 13.9) – The Napoli midfielder has struggled for consistency this season and looks set for a period on the sidelines. Considering Eljif Elmas’ and Fabian Ruiz’ good form, expect the Brazilian to be rotated out of the eleven. While Allan is important for what he does off the ball for the partenopei, it doesn’t benefit you in Fantasy Serie A. The 28-year-old is also a yellow card risk costing you points and has already picked up two cautions on the season.

At 13.9 million euros, look elsewhere for your midfield.

Fabio Quagliarella (ATT, Sampdoria, Value 17.7) – Sampdoria are currently a club in disarray and sit in last place in the standings. Having just fired Eusebio Di Francesco, it will take some time for Claudio Ranieri to get the blucerchiati firing on all cylinders again. After the international break, Sampdoria host Paulo Fonseca’s Roma, in what promises to be yet another difficult clash for them. Fabio Quagliarella has struggled as a result of the chaos in Genoa and has only found the back of the net once this season, albeit in a 4-1 loss against Sassuolo. Much like it was the case last season, it was from the spot.

Given Sampdoria’s recent issues and Quagliarella’s inefficiency in front of goal, it would be wise to temporarily swap the 36-year-old out of your elevens. At least until Ranieri steadies the ship.

Cristian Zapata (DEF, Genoa, Value 17.7) – After a positive start to the season, the defender has struggled for form and has seen his Genoa side slide down the table to 19th. In addition to not getting the results, I Grifoni’s defence has looked porous, conceding goals at will. If that weren’t enough to drop him from your side, Zapata is an aggressive defender and is unafraid to slide into a tackle. Currently, the 33-year-old is on three yellow cards, costing your crucial fantasy points in the process.

At 17.7 million euros, it’s time you bid adieu to Zapata and remove him from your eleven once and for all. It doesn’t look like things are getting any better in Genoa anytime soon.

Duvan Zapata (ATT, Atalanta, Value 26.8) - Let’s get something straight. Zapata has been in sensational form this season and would never have made this list if it wasn’t for his recent injury while on international duty. He’s currently among the top fantacalcio point earners alongside Ciro Immobile and has picked up from where he left off last season.

However, his recent injury will reportedly sideline him for a minimum of three weeks. Given Atalanta’s wide array of attacking options, they have no pressure to force him back into action anytime before that. As a result of this in addition to his inflated price-tag, it would be wise to move him out of your roster for the next three game-weeks at least.

Christian Kouamé (ATT, Genoa, Value 24.5) – Yet another player from the Genovese clubs makes this list as Kouamé has struggled for form in recent weeks. After a positive start to the season that saw him notch three goals, the attacker has tailed off and has been inefficient in the eighteen-yard box. Much like Sampdoria, Genoa are currently a club in disarray, who’s manager’s future is in danger. Given the uncertainty surrounding the club, expect Kouamé’s goalscoring woes to continue.

At 24.5 million euros, it’s time to move on from the talented young man.

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Serie A Fantasy Recap – Round Four

Standings implications: Inter stay on top of the table after besting Milan in the Derby, but Juventus and Napoli keep up as the Bianconeri squeaked by Verona and the Partenopei instead deep-sixed Lecce. Roma peeped out in the higher districts with a dramatic victory over Bologna and Lazio are right behind them after breezing past Parma. As they are ones to do, Atalanta clawed back against Fiorentina. Sassuolo handled SPAL at home, while Cagliari soundly defeated Genoa on Friday. Brescia stunned Udinese on the road while Sampdoria are finally on the board after their W over Torino. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Recap – Round Two

Results: Juventus emerged victorious in a wild bout with Napoli with a big assist from the opponents, while Roma and Lazio shared the spoils in an equally hard-fought Derby. Inter and Torino are the only two other teams at six points, as the Nerazzurri squeezed past Cagliari, while the Granata grabbed a quality victory against Atalanta. Milan found their first W scraping by Brescia. Genoa defeated Fiorentina, Sassuolo ragdolled Sampdoria, Bologna downed SPAL in the final minutes and Verona escaped Lecce with three valuable points.   Continue reading

Serie A Weekly Transfer Market Recap

sensigodin

Teams ramped up their activity in the first official week in an effort to give their coaches full squads by the start of the pre-season camps: Inter got busy and announced the signings of Diego Godin on a free transfer from Atletico Madrid, Stefano Sensi on loan with option to buy from Sassuolo and Valentino Lazaro from Hertha Berlin. Juventus answered with Adrien Rabiot from PSG and Merih Demiral from the Neroverdi and reunited with Gianluigi Buffon.

Milan added Theo Hernandez from Real Madrid, while Atalanta brought back Mario Pasalic on loan from Chelsea: the midfielder will continue to provide valuable depth in a pair of positions and had a sneakily good end of the 2018/2019 season, notching five goals in total. Continue reading

Serie A Weekly Transfer Market Recap and Expiring Contracts

politano

Serie A teams have been moderately active over the last two weeks. Atalanta completed the biggest deal by signing Luis Muriel, who was previously at Fiorentina but owned by Sevilla. Inter spent a considerable amount of money to activate the option to buy Matteo Politano from Sassuolo, which was never in doubt despite the formula of the transfer, and youngster Eddy Salcedo from Genoa.

Chievo Verona needed some cash to register to Serie B and few clubs helped them out by poaching the some of their most interesting players: Sampdoria acquired the energetic right back Fabio Depaoli, which will likely lead to the exit of one between Bartosz Bereszynski and Jacopo Sala, while Bologna signed the solid centre-back Mattia Bani, who will contribute to filling in for Lyanco, who was brilliant in the second half of last season but they were unable to retain him after the loan spell from Torino. Continue reading