Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round 29

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Juventus: Cristiano Ronaldo picked up a thigh strain while playing with Portugal and is unlikely to play in the next three games. Sami Khedira has been cleared to practice after a heart problem, but it will take him a little longer before playing. Douglas Costa (quad, calf), Juan Cuadrado (knee) and Andrea Barzagli (calf) remain sidelined, while Mattia De Sciglio has recovered from a thigh pull.

Napoli: Fabian Ruiz will be available after a tough flu. Lorenzo Insigne was on track to play but suffered a relapse of a thigh contracture.  Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round 28

Empoli v UC Sampdoria - Serie A

Juventus: none among Mattia De Sciglio (thigh), Andrea Barzagli (calf), Dougls Costa (quad, calf), Sami Khedira (heart) and Juan Cuadrado (knee) is expected back this week. The first one is the closest to recovering. Cristiano Ronaldo will be rested. 

Napoli: Lorenzo Insigne was scratched from the XI in Europa League due to a muscular problem in the warm-up. Vlad Chiriches subbed off for the same issue, while Amadou Diawara has a foot infraction: they have all been given a 20-day prognosis. Fabian Ruiz has the flu.

Milan: Cristian Zapata is back in the squad list after spending time on the mend with a thigh strain. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Predictions – Round 18

The first ever Serie A boxing day will culminate in a tasty match-up between Inter and Napoli.

Frosinone-Milan: the Ciociari snatched a decent draw in Udinese in Marco Baroni’s first game, but they need some Ws as they have gotten just one so far and it dates back to October 28th. The window to reduce the gap is closing quickly. Milan are sputtering in the last period: they have prevailed just once in the last six fixtures, tying with Lazio, Torino and Bologna and losing to Juventus and Fiorentina. They have been unable to score in the past three games. With so little time to work with, the new coach did not change much, opting for a 3-5-2 and benching Joel Campbell to have one more midfielder, Francesco Cassata. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Recap – Round 17

Standings implications: Juventus edge past Roma and they are now officially Winter champions. Napoli are not in a prolific stretch, but they eked out another win, this time squeaking by SPAL. Inter was pipped at the post in Verona. Lazio returned to winning ways by squashing Cagliari, re-claiming the fourth spot, since Milan got beat at home by Fiorentina. Sampdoria soared past Empoli late, defending their sixth position and building some separation over Sassuolo and Torino, which shared the spoils. Genoa outlasted Atalanta, giving Cesare Prandelli his first win since coming back to Serie A. Marco Baroni salvaged a decent point in Udine in his debut. Parma and Bologna settled for a nil-nil tie.

Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Game Predictions – Round 4

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Inter-Parma: the Beneamata grabbed their first win of the season in Bologna, where they were shorthanded and were led by Radja Nainggolan and Ivan Perisic. Mauro Icardi should be back this week. Luciano Spalletti is still figuring out how the best way to incorporate the newcomers and is looking for the best solution in the midfield, which lacks in creativity. The performances in the three matches have been wildly inconsistent, both on the bright side and on the more negative one. Anyway, the two goal scorers from the past game are good picks in this round and will likely be for the rest of the season. 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 Player Status Updates – Round 36

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Injuries pile up at the end of the season and unfortunately some top players got caught.

Juventus: Miralem Pjanic is suspended, while Mario Mandzukic will be held out due to a cut on the ankle. Giorgio Chiellini, Stefano Sturaro and Mattia De Sciglio are out with their previous injuries. Benedikt Howedes suffered yet another muscular ailment. 

Napoli: Kalidou Koulibaly is disqualified and Faouzi Ghoulam continues to rehab his fractured patella.  Continue reading

Serie A Player Status Updates – Round 35

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Here are the updates on few players’ conditions ahead of the upcoming round.

Juventus: Giorgio Chiellini suffered a hamstring (biceps femoris) strain just above the knee and will miss at least three weeks, with the risk of not returning this season. Mattia De Sciglio is out with a plantar fascia injury, Stefano Sturaro with a sore Achilles.

Napoli: no absentees other than the usual one Faouzi Ghoulam.

Roma: Diego Perotti and Kevin Strootman have already been ruled out due to an ankle sprain and a rib contusion. El Monito’s ailment is more severe since there is some ligament damage. Gregoire Defrel and Rick Karsdorp remain out following knee surgeries.  Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Game Predictions – Round 34

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The wheel keeps spinning in Serie A, so it is already time to take a look at the games of the upcoming round, which features the much-anticipated clash of the titans between Juventus and Napoli.

Spal-Roma: the Estensi have not lost in over two months and have drawn in their last six matches. They are a very tenacious and well-organized side, however the lack of a goal poacher makes them a little bland in the fantasy game as they rely mostly on random goals and stout defending. It’s a formula that works, though. The Wolf resumed winning midweek against Roma and Cengiz Under hit the net after a while. Continue reading

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