Serie A Player Status Updates – Round 38

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No shortage of injuries and suspensions heading into the final game.

Juventus: Sami Khedira got pulled last minute against Roma due to a muscular issue and he should not be available, same for Giorgio Chiellini and Benedikt Howedes, who have been on the shelf for a while now. Massimiliano Allegri has ruled out also Juan Cuadrado. Despite what the coach said, Federico Bernardeschi is the only one not in the squad list.

Napoli: Vlad Chiriches has undergone surgery to stabilize the shoulder that has given him a lot of problems in the past few years.

Roma: Radja Nainggolan in disqualified, while Cengiz Under got a knock on the ribs and he is very questionable. Gregoire Defrel and Rick Karsdorp are out with severe injuries, Bruno Peres is doubtful with a muscular one. Alisson has some soreness in his hip flexor and will not play.  Continue reading

Serie A Player Status Updates – Round 34

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Some of the most recognizable players risks being out in the upcoming round, here are the updates on everybody’s conditions.

Juventus: Miralem Pjanic is trying to recover for the big match against Napoli after skipping one due to a hamstring contracture and there are good chances he will be able to. Same for Mario Mandzukic, who was unavailable in Crotone due to gastroenteritis. Stefano Sturaro has a sore Achilles tendon, Mattia De Sciglio is out with a foot injury.

Napoli: no problems for the Partenopei, other than Faouzi Ghoulam who has been out for a while with a patella fracture.  Continue reading

Serie A Game of the Week – Round 31: Benevento vs Juventus

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There was a good amount of drama in the last round, particularly in Napoli’s late win and in a pair of clashes in the relegation zone, but the marquee game, Sampdoria-Genoa, was a dud, so the weekly shout-out goes to the highest scoring match: Benevento-Juventus.

The Sanniti were coming off a commanding win over Verona, where they confirmed their strength at home, but unfortunately they basically would have to win out to hope to avoid relegation, but they are too poor on the road. Juventus were looking to bounce back after a very disappointing result in the first leg against Real Madrid.

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Serie A Best Team to Pick – Round 27

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With a very juicy Serie A round on the horizon, here are the suggest players to pick.

Mattia Perin: Genoa laid an egg last week against Bologna, but they are were coming off straight wins and two huge ones against Inter and Lazio. They will square off at home against Cagliari this week and their defence is usually stingy.

Cristiano Biraghi: he scored last week and he might be again very involved on offence, should Stefano Pioli decide to stick with 3-5-2, where he covers the whole flank. Fiorentina’s next opponent, Udinese, has lost three straight matches and they have not figured it out upfront since Kevin Lasagna went down with a injury.

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Serie A Player Status Updates – Round 26

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Few top players are in danger of missing the next Serie A weekend, let’s take a look at the status updates.

Napoli:  Dries Mertens rolled an ankle in practice, but he played against Leipzig, so it was nothing severe. Arek Milik could be inserted the squad list this weekend or the next, but he will be obviously brought along slowly, while Faouzi Ghoulam’s return is up in the air, but it will not be before 30 days from now. Vlad Chiriches is out with a hamstring issue. Mario Rui was subbed off midweek for some plantar fascia pain and he is questionable.

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Serie A Fantasy Game Predictions – Round 26

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The upcoming Serie A round is headlined by Milan-Roma, while Juventus and Napoli will continue their duel by taking on Atalanta and Cagliari respectively.

Inter-Benevento: the Nerazzurri crumbled against Genoa last week and failed to pick up steam after the win over Bologna. Not only their attack remains lackluster, but also their back-line is not as solid as it used to be at the beginning of the season. However, they will have a great opportunity to turn things around this week, because the Sanniti have lost every road game so far and have conceded a whopping 30 goals in the meantime. The guests are showing a lot of grit at home: when they will manage to replicate that in away fixtures, they might concretely re-enter the relegation race. Inter will probably not have Mauro Icardi back, and certainly not at full capacity: Eder has done OK relieving the star striker, while this could be a good match-up for the electric Yann Karamoh and for Ivan Perisic, who has been slumping for so long. Benevento do not really have a go-to-guy and now also Cheick Diabate has joined their attacking committee. Guilherme could be a longshot pick in a game where they could have some room to counter. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Game Prediction – Round 24

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The next Serie A round features a couple of very interesting match-ups involving the two top teams.

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