Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round Five

Atalanta: Matteo Pessina returned in Champions League from a late-season patellar dislocation. Ruslan Malinovskyi had an old scar in his adductor flare up and missed the previous game, but he is set to be available SaturdayCristiano Piccini (knee) could return sooner rather than later, while Pierluigi Gollini (knee) is at least two weeks away.

Benevento: Nicolas Viola has resumed practicing after his meniscus surgery and made the squad list. Gabriele Moncini and Federico Barba are out again to muscular problems and are joined in that regard by Iago Falque.  Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round Two

Atalanta: Duvan Zapata and José Palomino should be good to go after COVID, but they might be initially limited. Cristiano Piccini will be held out as he works on his fitness level. Aleksey Miranchuk (thigh strain) is unlikely to be back before the international break. Pierluigi Gollini (partial ACL tear) and Matteo Pessina (patellar dislocation) are expected to return in November. Berat Djimsiti and Cristian Romero are suspended. Josip Ilicic remains out indefinitely as he recovers from mental health issues, but at least he is practicing. 

Benevento: Nicolas Viola is out as he had a torn meniscus removed and will be sidelined for a couple of months. Oliver Kragl (neck) and Andres Tello have been ruled for minor ailments, Federico Barba because of lack of fitness.  Continue reading

Serie A Best Fantasy XI – Round 36

Wojciech Szczesny (7 points): the amount of goalie that blanked the opponents was again numbered and out of the four that managed, the Juventus one had the busiest performance as Sampdoria put up a fight to try to spoil the Bianconeri’s title celebration, but he rejected them with timely saves.

Elseid Hysaj (9 points): an uncharacteristically sparkling performance for the defensive-minded Napoli full-back, who broke the deadlock against Sassuolo with a nifty strike from outside the box for his first ever Serie A goal and sprinted down the left flank to wreak havoc multiple times. Continue reading

Serie A Best Fantasy XI – Round 20

Bartlomiej Dragowski (7 points): quite amazingly, there was only just one clean sheet in this round and it belonged to Fiorentina, who were stout defensively against Napoli, which are in a tough sledding still have weapons and talent up front. La Viola are finally tightening it up in the back, showcasing the solidity of their young goalie.

Pol Lirola (7 points): he outpaced his fellow teammates, who all racked up five points, since he fed Dusan Vlahovic prior to the second goal, although most of the credit goes to the teammate for that missile. He has been a non-factor so far this season, perhaps the assists will get him going.   Continue reading

Serie A Match of the Round – Milan vs Udinese

The most dramatic match of the round was quite decisively Milan-Udinese, which was back and forth throughout the ninety minutes and was decided in the final moments.

The Rossoneri came into the game looking to build onto a convincing win over Cagliari last week and to get closer to the top six, while the Zebrette had won three in a row, putting the relegation zone in the rear-view mirror. Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round 11

Atalanta: Marten De Roon is suspended. Andrea Masiello and José-Luis Palomino were available for the midweek round, so the only injured player is Duvan Zapata.

Bologna: Mitchell Dijks will remain sidelined for what is now billed more as a foot sprain than a contusion. Gary Medel is back in the squad list, while Mattia Destro and Takehiro Tomiyasu remain sidelined. Federico Santander was hit on the calf but he is available.

Brescia: Jesse Joronen is questionable due to the bruise that forced him to miss the last game. It is unlikely that there will any return among their injured players, with Giangiacomo Magnani being the closest. Continue reading

Serie A Team of the Week – Round 35

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Bartlomiej Dragowski (7 points): he came through time and time for Empoli against Fiorentina, helping them keep a rare clean sheet with various great saves on attempts and the final one on a Dusan Vlahovic’s point-blank header was simply a thigh of beauty.

Felipe (13 points): he is the second defender to bag two goals in the same game after Merih Demiral managed few rounds back. He took advantage of Chievo’s abysmal defending on set pieces to perforate them first with a header and then with a tap-in after settling the ball in a rather fortuitous way. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Picks – Round 33

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Thomas Strakosha: fresh off a saved penalty in the Udinese game, he could be able to take home few more bonus points against Chievo, which have scored just nine times on the road.

Jens Larsen: the two-game trip to the Nation’s Capital went poorly for Udinese, which were handled by both Roma and Lazio. However, they have had much success at home, while Sassuolo are pedestrian away and the fullback has been able to haul in points in six of the last eight tilts at the Friuli stadium. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Picks – Round 26

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Salvatore Sirigu: Torino have kept five clean sheets in a row, four straight at home, against opponents that are much more equipped than Chievo and the Flying Donkeys have scored in just one of the last four road games.

Danilo D’Ambrosio: Cagliari’s offensive output has been rather pedestrian in the last two months, so picking an Inter defender could be a smart choice even though they are on the road. The right back is also occasionally able to put his name in the scoresheet.

Jens Larsen: Bologna are definitely friskier after the coaching change, but the Udinese wing back has been able to rack up bonus points in four of their last five home fixtures.  Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Picks – Round 24

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Samir Handanovic: Inter remain one of the most trustworthy defences and they have allowed the fewest goals at home. They will tangle with Sampdoria this week, which have been shutout in their last two games.

Faouzi Ghoulam: Mario Rui got hurt against Fiorentina, which paves the way for the Algerian left back, who is always a threat offensively. Napoli have kept three clean sheets in a row.

Jens Larsen: while Udinese are laboring as a team, the Danish is thriving as wing back and is much more involved offensively, even scoring recently. Chievo have given up a lot of goals as of late and have failed to hit the net in three of their last four road fixtures. Continue reading