Serie A Fantasy Predictions – Round 37

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Sassuolo-Roma: the Neroverdi were handed their first loss since April last week by Torino, even though they certainly put up a fight, despite not being in need of points. The Giallorossi defeated Juventus with a late surge, garnering their fourth win in the last six rounds, tying in the other two and staying close to the fourth spot. Sassuolo have found the target in five of the last six rounds and La Lupa have not been great defensively on the road: they have spread the wealth around since Domenico Berardi was the only one to bag one in multiple matches. Jeremie Boga, Stefano Sensi, Manuel Locatelli and all the defenders contributed scoring-wise: Boga and Sensi have been their most lively contributors in the last few fixtures. The Giallorossi are getting a lot from Stephan El Shaarawy and Edin Dzeko, while the latest tactical change, if confirmed, would help the likes of Nicolò Zaniolo, Cengiz Under and Justin Kluivert, as the last two would see more minutes. Lorenzo Pellegrini is iffy due to a thigh ailment and his absence could allow Bryan Cristante to have a big role.

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Serie A Fantasy Predictions – Round 32

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SPAL-Juventus: after winning three games in a row, against Roma, Frosinone and Lazio, SPAL were bested by Cagliari, but their recent streak gave them a little breathing room over the last three positions. Juventus toppled Milan last week, winning for the eighth time in the last nine matches and they are one point away from clinching the title. For the Estensi, Andrea Petagna has been a rock all year long, showing to be a much more prolific striker compared to his time at Atalanta. Manuel Lazzari is their main playmaker off the right flank and has picked up eight assists thus far. Jasmin Kurtic is also occasionally able to collect some bonus points, while they have not got much out of the second-striker role, as Mirco Antenucci, Andrea Paloschi and Sergio Floccari have combined for just six goals. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Recap – Round 30

Standings implication: Juventus overwhelmed Cagliari, while Napoli fell to Empoli and therefore the Bianconeri could potentially clinch the title in the weekend. In the Champions League race, it was a positive round for Inter, which thumped Genoa on the road, and Atalanta that demolished Bologna, while Milan had a disappointing tie with Udinese and Lazio were outlasted by SPAL. The Biscione built a little lead while the Orobici are one point behind the Rossoneri.

Torino returned to winning ways against Sampdoria, while Roma again failed to take home the W as they equalized with Fiorentina. The Granata pulled even with the Nation’s Capital teams and distanced Sampdoria. As it is often the case in this time of the year, the relegation strugglers are starting to get some surprise victories: SPAL and Empoli gained points on Udinese and Bologna. Frosinone snatched their first home win of the season, but it might be too late for them as they are * behind the 17th position. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Recap – Round 28

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Standings implications: Juventus dropped their first game in Genoa, while Napoli tamed Udinese and so the lead yo-yoes back to 15 points. Inter resurrected at the most opportune time and torpedoed Milan in the Derby della Madonnina, reclaiming the third spot. Roma did not take advantage as they had a poor showing in Ferrara. It was a good week for Lazio, as they demolished Parma, while Atalanta got stymied by Chievo and Torino came up empty-handed against Bologna. In the lower districts, mammoth wins for the Felsinei, SPAL and Empoli, who sunk Frosinone in the head-to-head bout. Udinese fell back in the mud, as they are now just two points above the Felsinei. Cagliari kept the opponents at bay with a precious W against Fiorentina.

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Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round 27

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Juventus: Miralem Pjanic and Joao Cancelo are suspended, while Douglas Costa (quad, calf), Sami Khedira (heart) and Juan Cuadrado (knee) remain sidelined. Mattia De Sciglio has been ruled out late due a thigh problem.

Napoli: Alex Meret is disqualified and Raul Albiol is recovering from a clean-up knee surgery.

Milan: Ricardo Rodriguez is banned. Hakan Calhanoglu might not play as he flew to Germany for the birth of his child eariler this week . Mattia Caldara is expected to be back in the squad list, while Cristian Zapata is more likely to return next week.   Continue reading

Serie A Transfer Market Weekly Recap

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The transfer market is not exactly raging in the first couple of weeks of January, but there were still some noteworthy transfers. The biggest one was completed by Sampdoria, which brought back Manolo Gabbiadini, who will likely replace Dawid Kownacki up front. Gabbiadini has never been a particularly prolific scorer, but he has an intriguing skillset that could mesh well with any of his new teammates. The Blucerchiati have also secured the signing of the 22-year-old midfielder Morten Thorsby, who will join for free from Heerenveen in the summer. Continue reading

Serie A Weekly News Recap

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Another week, another round of big stories coming from Serie A. First of all, Milan have been excluded from Europa League next season, but the ruling has been milder than most expected. The Rossoneri will appeal to the CAS, meanwhile Atalanta and Fiorentina are set to benefit from this decision.

Few big transfers were made official this week: Radja Nainggolan has left Roma to join Inter on a €38M deal that includes Davide Santon. The Nerazzurri have also brought in Matteo Politano from Sassuolo. Juventus have found a new starting right back in Joao Cancelo, signed from Valencia for €40M. Continue reading