Serie A Fantasy Preview – Round Eight

Lazio-Atalanta: the formula for the Biancocelesti never really changes, as Ciro Immobile is going like gangbusters this year, while Luis Alberto has been their second-best player, especially thanks to his playmaking, as he has already provided five assists. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Joaquin Correa have both broken the ice, but they have yet to turn into consistent scorers. The ancillary contributors like Manuel Lazzari and Adam Marusic have been stuck in a timeshare, while Senad Lulic’s fantasy appeal is limited.

The Goddess lost Duvan Zapata for some time due to a muscular injury, so it now will have to be Luis Muriel’s time to shine as the primary go-to-guy. He has scored three times in five appearances despite the irregular playing time and, despite the different skillset, they might not take a big hit there. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Preview – Round Six

Juventus-SPAL: the Bianconeri have not been very spectacular in the last two matches against minnows, but they got the job done with the contribution of few different players. Cristiano Ronaldo has shaken off his injury and will be back in this one, Paulo Dybala has outperformed Gonzalo Higuain in the last couple of outings, but the latter is usually closer to the goal. Aaron Ramsey has been pretty good and they could carry on with the tactics where he is heavily featured, but it remains to be seen whether he can play thrice in a row, otherwise Adrien Rabiot or Federico Bernardeschi could get the nod there and reap the benefits of a very offensive role. They have gotten goals from Miralem Pjanic and Blaise Matuidi, even though Sami Khedira is generally the midfielder who is most involved in the offense. Juan Cuadrado loses some steam because he is forced to play as right back for the time being. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Preview – Round Three

Fiorentina-Juventus: despite the two tough losses, la Viola showed some intriguing stuff up front against both Napoli and Genoa. The potential is there, but the whole team needs to tighten up and build up some chemistry. Franck Ribery is primed to get more minutes after the break and they should finally counter-balance a line-up that is always too reliant on Federico Chiesa. The ones that will benefit the most are the centre-forwards and for the time being Kevin-Prince Boateng will likely be the top option until Dusan Vlahovic and Pedro find their footing. Gaetano Castrovilli has already shown that he can be dangerous with his cuts, while Erick Pulgar hit the net twice on penalties and will have more opportunities to put his shooting prowess to good use in a slightly modified role. Continue reading

Serie A Weekly Transfer Market Recap

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The transfer market moves along pretty slowly, waiting for the completion of some massive deals and especially for the final week. Some minor but relevant moves still went down in the past few days. Serie A teams are making it a habit of securing transfers for next season and Fiorentina pulled off an intriguing one: the central midfielder Hamed Traorè, who showed great promise and is just 18-year-old. He will finish the year at Empoli and was acquired for €12M.

With the same formula and for around €4M, Cagliari purchased the defensive prospect Sebastian Walukiewicz from Pogon Szczecin, while Sampdoria, for much cheaper, completed the signing of centre-back of Ernesto Mulè from Trapani. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Predictions – Round 14

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The next Serie A slate is pretty tasty on paper.

Fiorentina-Juventus: the Viola are having a weird season. They started off decently, showing well especially at home, where they are still undefeated and have a sound defense, but they have struggled to score recently. They have not netted more than one since late September and they have drawn in their last five matches, against Cagliari, Torino, Roma, Frosinone and Bologna. On the other hand, the Old Lady is cruising with 12 wins in the year, four in a row after the tumble against Genoa, but it will be tested before the break. Fiorentina’s offensive problems stem primarily from Giovanni Simeone and Marko Pjaca’s poor form, as they have combined for just three goals so far. Federico Chiesa is always doing stuff, but he has not bagged many as well. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Predictions – Round 7

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A seminal Serie A weekend is approaching, featuring the Derby della Capitale and Juventus-Napoli.

Roma-Lazio: the Giallorossi shook off at least part of the negativity surrounding them by routing Frosinone on Wednesday, which is not particularly difficult these days, but they needed it. They had won just in the opening round. The Biancocelesti keep feasting on the minnows and are coming off four wins in a row. La Lupa has been so inconsistent so far, but 4-2-3-1 with Javier Pastore in the hole and Steven Nzonzi and Daniele De Rossi screening the defence might ultimately be the way to go, at least in big matches. Stephan El Shaarawy has been their most trustworthy player so far, but Cengiz Under broke through on Wednesday and he does not need a lot to get hot. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Picks – Round 6 & 7

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A two-game round is coming up, so it is better to play the hits rather than chasing longshots.

Emil Audero: Sampdoria have conceded the least goals so far, three, and the youngster certainly held his own. They have a reasonably favourable schedule, considering they will face Cagliari on the road, which will likely be without Leonardo Pavoletti and then will host SPAL.

Domenico Criscito: similarly to Blucerchiati, Genoa have two decent match-ups in the next four days, as they will face the sputtering Chievo at home and then pay a visit to the reeling Frosinone. The ex-Zenit has already picked up three assists. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Recap – Round 5

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Standings implications: Juventus eked out a win in Frosinone, while Napoli prevailed rather easily in the lunch match in Turin. Lazio put together a three-game winning streak by topping minnows. Milan and Atalanta shared the spoils in a very entertaining game. Inter grabbed their second Serie A win in dramatic fashion, while Roma are officially in a tailspin after the shocking loss to Bologna. Sassuolo and Fiorentina remain in the upper part of the standings thanks to their convincing victories over Empoli and SPAL, Udinese are a little lower, but still in a pretty good spot after defeating Chievo. Parma defeated a direct rival like Cagliari. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Game Predictions – Round 5

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There are not any mammoth clash this week, but a pair of match-up could turn to be very succulent.

Sampdoria-Inter: if it was not for the tumble they took in Udine in their season opener, the Blucerchiati would be regarded as one of the most impressive squads in Serie A, considering they how they dusted Napoli and Frosinone and came back against Fiorentina. Their attack is humming: Gregoire Defrel, Fabio Quagliarella, Gianluca Caprari and Dawid Kownacki have all already found the target at least once and the former Roma and Sassuolo striker is raining fire.  Continue reading

Serie A Team of the Week – Round 2

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Let’s take a look at the best performers from a pretty interesting round.

Wojciech Szczesny (7 points): there were five clean sheets in the weekend, so Alfred Gomis, Lukasz Skorupski, Simone Scuffet and Marco Sportiello all joined the Pole atop of the best goalkeepers’ chart in this round. There were not any particularly outstanding performance, so the Juventus player gets the choice because he had to face the strongest attack and for a pair of key interventions in the first half, particularly on an effort from distance by Senad Lulic and on a through ball that he neutralized coming out with great timing.

William Troost-Ekong (5 points): a bunch of defenders are tied at five points because so many teams did not concede. Continue reading