Serie A: Injuries & Suspensions plus probable lineups – Round 25

Atalanta: Alejandro Gomez and José-Luis Palomino had some minor issues in the last week but they are expected to be fine, while Lennart Czyborra could miss the game with muscle fatigue. Tomas Sutalo recovered from a foot injury.

Cagliari: Joao Pedro is suspended, Radja Nainggolan is out with a calf strain that could cost him further matches. Christian Oliva is slated to be on the shelf for a while with an ankle sprain. Paolo Faragò underwent sports hernia surgery during the stoppage and he is unlikely to play in the remaining fixtures, same for Leonardo Pavoletti (ACL tear). Luca Ceppitelli has healed from planter fasciitis. Continue reading

Serie A Best Fantasy XI – Round 15

Luigi Sepe (7 points): just four clean sheets in this round and two of the goalie combined that with a key save on a penalty, Parma’s one and Brescia’s Jesse Joronen. However, the Finnish international was also booked, so the unheralded #1 of the Ducali gets the nod by default. Antonio Mirante had a terrific outing in relief, denying two clear-cut attempts by Lautaro Martinez and Matias Vecino with superb dives and one-handed saves.

Cristian Ansaldi (6 points): Torino conceded late, but Ansaldi still paced all defenders with his contribution on the other end, as he set up Simone Zaza’s goal with a great cross after a delightful action down the left wing and scored in the second half by picking his way to the box centrally and slotting it home from just outside of it. Continue reading

Serie A Match of the Round – Bologna vs Parma

The Emilian Derby was quite riveting in terms of action and was drama-filled until the very end, so it easily takes home the shout-out in this round despite its modest magnitude in the grand schemes of the League.

Bologna were coming off three straight losses, against Cagliari, Inter and Sassuolo and have won just once in the previous ten rounds. Parma instead dropped only one of the last four matches and gathered four points in the two most recent ones versus Fiorentina and Roma. Continue reading

Serie A Team of the Round – Parma

Parma were clearly the best team of the week as they rolled the reeling Genoa, even though a cheap goal ruined a glorious fantasy haul.

The Gialloblù were coming off a road loss to SPAL but had beaten Torino and Sassuolo in the last two home fixtures, climbing up the standings. Roberto D’Aversa lost Bruno Alves the day before the match and gave Kastriot Dermaku a chance in the heart of the defence, keeping Riccardo Gagliolo on the left flank, while Matteo Darmian returned from injury on the other one. In the midfield, Matteo Scozzarella and Antonino Barillà were chosen over Hernani, while the trident was the usual one. Continue reading

Serie A Weekly Transfer Market Recap and Ended Loans

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The last week prior to the official start of the transfer market was understandably quiet: Sampdoria pulled off the most interesting move by adding another talented youngster, Gonzalo Maroni from Boca Juniors, who can feature in few positions up front and has the potential to be electric. Genoa made a sizeable investment to have Andrea Pinamonti from Inter, who had a very promising rookie season in Frosinone and is set to be their featured guy up front moving forward. Fiorentina are giving the keys to their goal to Barlomiej Dragowki, who blossomed in Empoli last season, and thus sent Alban Lafont to Nantes on a two-year loan. Sassuolo permanently signed left back Rogerio from Juventus after the 18-month loan, Brescia did the same with Ales Mateju, who belonged to Brighton.

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Serie A Weekly News Recap

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The transfer market rages on and few deals were completed this week: none this summer will be bigger than the blockbuster transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus. Jorginho and Maurizio Sarri reunites at Chelsea. Lazio acquired Francesco Acerbi from Sassuolo and sent Felipe Anderson to West Ham, while Atalanta signed Duvan Zapata from Sampdoria. The Blucerchiati also sold Lucas Torreira to Arsenal.

A new chapter in the Milan’s ownership saga: Yonghong Li did not re-pay the latest €32M loan by Elliott, the negotiations for a last-minute sale have collapsed and the hedge fund has officially taken over and is assembling the new management. Continue reading