Serie A Fantasy Preview – Round 23

Roma-Bologna: the Giallorossi are in a funk and have played just one convincing game out of the last five. They will be without Lorenzo Pellegrini due to suspension and it is a massive loss considering that he is the mastermind of their offense. They should get Henrikh Mkhitaryan back from injury and perhaps even starting considering the hole at no.10. The other option is likely Diego Perotti and they seem to always be awarded a penalty when he is out there. Edin Dzeko has scored in three straight games and they will face a pretty suspect back-line. Cengiz Under took a step back versus Sassuolo, but he is always pretty assertive when he decides to play, while Justin Kluivert has not done much since coming back from injury, but should improve over time. Paulo Fonseca has elected to keep Aleksandar Kolarov on the bench in the last two matches for tactical reasons, but the decision has not really moved the needle so the stud left-back should soon be back in the XI. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Preview – Round 18

Brescia-Lazio: it did not take much, but the Rondinelle are playing way better after the return of Eugenio Corini and have rediscovered a pair of weapons that had not produced in the first handful of games, such as Ernesto Torregrossa and Nikolas Spalek. Torregrossa is a more natural fit next to Mario Balotelli and, while not overly prolific, he can hit the net from time to time. The Slovenian no.10 instead had struggled to find his footing in the top league, but he is getting there. His emergence, on top of injuries to other midfielders, pushes Romulo to a less offensive position, where he is not as appealing fantasy-wise. Dimitri Bisoli is also faromg  better lately, while Balotelli has corrected his attitude and found the target twice in the past month and is obviously their featured guy up front. Stefano Sabelli is always very frisky for a right-back. 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 Best Fantasy XI – Round 12

Juan Musso (7 points): very strong goalkeeper in this round, in particular by Andrei Radu and Wojciech Szczesny, and there were indeed a number of clean sheets, bucking the trend from previous weeks. No save was more important that Musso’s one on an extremely late penalty by Andrea Petagna that prevented Udinese from losing to SPAL.

Riccardo Gagliolo (7 points): Parma managed to hold Roma in check and the hybrid defender, who is enjoying life as left-back, set up Mattia Sprocati’s after bearing down the flank. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Predictions – Round 38

Empoli v FC Internazionale - Serie A

Atalanta-Sassuolo: the Goddess survived Juventus’ second half push last week and returned from Turin with a precious point that allowed them to catch Inter and maintain a narrow lead over Milan. They have not lost since February 23rd and triumphed in eight of the following 12 rounds. Sassuolo are right in the middle of the pack but played spoiler last week by drawing with Roma. They have been defeated just once in the last eight matches, tying in five occasions. Josip Ilicic scored at the Stadium after being shut out for few weeks and also their rock Duvan Zapata and Alejandro Gomez will be popular picks since the Neroverdi are not the stingiest bunch. Neither are the Bergamaschi to be honest: the locals have spread the wealth in terms of scoring, but in general Domenico Berardi, Jeremie Boga and Stefano Sensi have been their best contributors in the final months. Hans Hateboer’s suspension makes it clear that Timothy Castagne and Robin Gosens will man the flanks: the former is more interesting since he is listed as a defender and in the midst of a prolific run. Continue reading

Serie A Player Status Updates – Round 3

florenzi

Juventus:  Miralem Pjanic is fine after subbing off in the second half last week, Mattia De Sciglio might be able to make the squad list.

Napoli: Mario Rui is expected to recover from the little muscular problem he had against Milan, while Fabian Ruiz remains questionable due to muscle fatigue. Alex Meret (arm) is unlikely to play, but he is close to returning.

Roma:  Alessandro Florenzi suffered a knee trauma, but it is nothing major. He, Diego Perotti, still dealing with an ankle sprain, and Antonio Mirante, for some neck pain, have been ruled out for the Milan game. Continue reading

Serie A Weekly News Recap

nzonzi

Most of the big stuff was done prior to deadline day in Serie A, but it still had a little bit of drama with Simone Zaza picking Torino over Sampdoria after the Blucerchiati had sealed the deal with Valencia. He will now form an interesting couple with Andrea Belotti and the Granata also brought in another familiar face: Roberto Soriano from Villarreal. Two valuable additions that might allow them to seriously challenge for a Europa League spot this year. They also obtained on loan the right back Ola Aina from Chelsea and the centre-back Koffi Djidji from Nantes to complete the defence. Continue reading