Serie A Injury Report – Round 33

Atalanta: Robin Gosens was a late scratch against Juventus, but he has been called up and therefore avoided serious problems. Luis Muriel suffered a head trauma in a domestic incident, but he is fine and will be back for the next match.

Bologna: Federico Santander and Andrea Poli have recovered from their thigh injuries. Mattia Bani is pretty much done for the season with a calf strain. Jerdy Schouten (thigh) will be back in a pair of weeks.

Brescia: Jesse Joronen is out with an undisclosed injury, joining Andrea Cistana (tibia), Enrico Alfonso and Dimitri Bisoli (patellar tendon) on the mend. Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round 32

Atalanta: everybody is available and perhaps that is one of the reasons behind their success.

Bologna: Stefano Denswil is suspended, while Roberto Soriano won the appeal and will be available. Federico Santander and Andrea Poli should not be out much longer with their thigh strain, while Andreas Skov Olsen returned in the last round. Jerdy Schouten will miss a couple of weeks due to a biceps femoris strain. 

Brescia: Emanuele Ndoj was available against Torino. Jhon Chancellor (thigh) is progressing and is likely to come back at some point, Andrea Cistana is still 50/50 for the season. Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round Ten

Juventus: Miralem Pjanic (thigh) and Gonzalo Higuain (head) were ruled out. while Rodrigo Bentancur, who hurt his ribs, is good to go. Douglas Costa has resumed practicing fully and might return to the squad either here or on Sunday, while Aaron Ramsey is still limited, but he is the squad list. 

Inter: Stefano Sensi is progressing but will not come back here. The reports about Matias Vecino’s thigh injury have been scarce, but he was not dealing with a major problem. Continue reading

Serie A Team of the Round – Napoli

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Napoli continue to gallop despite being already certain of their final position and victimized Inter on Sunday, which still had and has a lot to play for, putting together the most dominant performance of the week despite giving up a late consolation goal.

Carlo Ancelotti could count on the returns of Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne, who sat out last week, and picked the Belgian to partner Arkadiusz Milik up front. He opted for his more offensive-minded fullback duo, Kevin Malcuit and Faouzi Ghoulam, while Piotr Zielinski and Fabian Ruiz switched positions, the Polish starlet playing centrally and the Spaniard on the left wing. Orestis Karnezis drew a rare start between sticks. Continue reading

Serie A Match of the Round – Napoli vs Juventus

 

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A very entertaining Serie A round was capped off by the seminal encounter between Napoli and Juventus, which, by all accounts, was one of the strangest matches of the season. The Partenopei approached the game trying to cut into the Bianconeri’s sizeable lead and to maintain their impeccable home record, while the Old Lady was looking to put any residual comeback hopes to sleep.

Carlo Ancelotti confirmed the defensive formula he has been using lately, which features Kevin Malcuit and Elseid Hysaj as fullbacks and Nikola Maksimovic filling in for the injured Raul Albiol. Continue reading

Serie A Club of the Round – Napoli

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Milan and Napoli were the most impressive teams in this round and the Partenopei, who scored more goals and did it on the road against a better opponent, get the coveted weekly award.

The Azzurri had very uncharacteristically failed to score in three of the previous four games, all ending in a nil-nil tie, so their offence had something to prove on Sunday and they certainly succeeded there as the Parma match was never in doubt and they bagged four goals. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Picks – Round 15

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Andrea Consigli: Sassuolo are not in their best period, but they have tightened up in the back and this week they will host a Fiorentina team that has managed to put it on goal just four times on the road, which is the worst clip in the League.

Joao Cancelo: he will try to stick it to the team that did not pick up the option to buy him this summer and the fact that Alex Sandro is unlikely to play will give him more opportunities on offence. Juventus have kept three clean sheets in a row.

Kevin Malcuit: he is always very active when he called upon and he should get the start against the lowly Frosinone. Continue reading

Serie A Team of the Week – Round 13

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The last round was a little meager in terms of scoring because few teams that were shut out. Here are the best performers.

Stefano Sorrentino (7 points): defenses bounced back after struggling in the match days prior to the break and nine teams managed to keep a clean sheet. None was more impressive than Chievo’s one at San Paolo, where their goalie made eight saves, including a pair of key and beautiful ones. Lukasz Skorupski and Alessio Cragno’s performances to stymie Fiorentina was also noteworthy.

William Troost-Ekong (5 points): a myriad of defenders got five points because their sides did not concede. The Udinese centre-back played a major role in stifling Roma on Saturday, blanketing first Patrik Schick and then Edin Dzeko. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Picks – Round 11

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Samir Handanovic: Inter have kept three clean sheets in the past four games and have looked rock-solid recently, leapfrogging Sampdoria for team that has allowed the fewest goals so far. The goalkeeper has contributed to the cause with some deciding saves.

Joao Cancelo: fresh off a maintenance day against Empoli, where his absence was noticeable, he will be ready to gallop down the flank versus Cagliari, which have scored just twice on the road so far.

Kevin Malcuit: the newcomer has always looked very energetic in his limited appearances and he could get one more chance on Friday. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Predictions – Round 11

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Just a pair of juicy match-ups on deck this week, while the top teams will try to take advantage of cozy fixtures on paper.

Napoli-Empoli: the Partenopei were not super sharp versus Roma, they salvaged a draw but could have probably done more if they did not put themselves in the predicament of having to come back. It was the first time they dropped points at home. Empoli have not won since the first game, but they certainly put up a fight against Juventus before Cristiano Ronaldo decided to win it. Continue reading