Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round 30

Atalanta: José Palomino was announced to be out for the past game, but he actually recovered last-minute and played few minutes, so no worries for Gian Piero Gasperini.

Bologna: Ibrahima Mbaye has missed some time with a minor injury. Andrea Poli, Federico Santander and Andreas Skov Olsen are out with thigh strains.

Brescia: same as usual as Andrea Cistana (lower leg), Jhon Chancellor (thigh) and Dimitri Bisoli (knee) are out long-term. Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round 29

Atalanta: Ruslan Malinovskyi is suspended for yellow-card accumulation. Josip Ilicic is not 100 percent after an ankle sprain but he is at his coach’s disposal. José Palomino is out with a thigh injury. 

Bologna: Federico Santander and Andreas Skov Olsen remain out with thigh strains. Andrea Poli will miss up to ten days with a thigh pull. 

Brescia: Andrea Cistana (lower leg) and Jhon Chancellor (thigh) will be back in mid-July at the earliest, Dimitri Bisoli (patellar tendon) is out until December. Continue reading

Serie A Injuries and Suspension Report – Round 28

Atalanta: Josip Ilicic returned from an ankle problem in the last game, thus they have nothing else to worry about.

Bologna: Federico Santander and Andreas Skov Olsen will be out for a while due to thigh strains.

Brescia: Jhon Chancellor (thigh) will miss another one. Andrea Cistana is not close after repairing his peroneal tendon during the lockdown. Continue reading

Serie A Injuries and Suspensions Report – Round 27

Atalanta: Josip Ilicic sprained his right ankle in practice and will have to be assessed before the Lazio game. Mario Pasalic is suspended.

Bologna: Mattia Bani, Jerdy Schouten and Federico Santander are suspended and the striker also picked up a biceps femoris strain and will be sidelined for three-to-four weeks. Similar timetable for Andreas Skov Olsen, who is nursing a lesion of the myotendinous junction of the right flexor. Continue reading

Serie A Best Fantasy XI – Round 25

Pau Lopez (5 points): the Spaniard did not have a particularly busy performance in the Lecce game, but he was the only goalie to keep a clean sheet over the week and therefore the lone point-getter at his position. Roma had not blanked an opponent since the beginning of December.

Aleksandar Kolarov (9 points): the Serbian fullback, who is usually a fantasy stud, had gone through a sticky patch where he even lost the starting job for a minute, but he roared back versus the Salentini with a strong display and a pretty strike to round up the score. He still has not patched things up with the fan base though. Continue reading

Serie A Match of the Round – Derby della Capitale

Napoli-Juventus was likely a little more intense and significant, but it already got extensive coverage in another column, so the nod for match of the round goes to the Derby between Roma and Lazio, which was not exactly one of the ages but always carries gargantuan magnitude.

La Lupa came into the match looking to build on last week’s easy win over Genoa, which had interrupted a two-game slump, while the Eagles were riding a 11-match winning streak that had commenced back in late October. They were coming off a rout against Sampdoria. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Recap – Round 21

Standings implications: in a pretty surprising round, Napoli upset Juventus, Cagliari held Inter to a tie, while Roma and Lazio equalized. The Nerazzurri are now three points behind first place, the Biancocelesti potentially two. Atalanta return within one point from the Champions League zone after the complete annihilation of Torino. Cagliari surely got a positive result but they were caught in the standings by Milan, which nipped Brescia, and Parma, which instead outplayed Udinese and so there is now a three-way tie in sixth position. Verona are not far behind after torpedoing Lecce, Bologna instead prevailed in the Derby with SPAL. Sampdoria and Sassuolo shared the spoils in a snooze-fest and thus maintain a little cushion over the last three positions. Genoa were the only team to get a point in the relegation zone as they survived the meeting with Fiorentina. Continue reading

Serie A Match of the Week – Round 11

Roma-Napoli had the right combination of magnitude coming in and action on the field and therefore easily gets the choice this week.

The Giallorossi approached the tilt looking to build on their two recent wins over Milan and Udinese and to continue climbing in the standings, while Napoli had prevailed just once in the last four, sharing the spoils three times and therefore losing ground.

Paulo Fonseca confirmed most of what has been his go-to XI, replacing the suspended Federico Fazio with Mert Cetin in the back, thus keeping Gianluca Mancini in the midfield, next to Jordan Veretout. Continue reading

Serie A Club of the Round – Roma

Both Roman teams would have been deserving of a spot in this round, but there is place just for one club so La Lupa gets it as they obtained the same result as Lazio but on the road.

They approached the contest looking to build on a quality win over Milan last week and to take advantage of the tie between Napoli and Atalanta. Paulo Fonseca welcomed back Justin Kluivert from suspension and selected him over Diego Perotti, while Davide Santon got the nod over Alessandro Florenzi and Leonardo Spinazzola at right back. Continue reading

Serie A Round 3 Fantacalcio Player Trends: Stock Down

Now that the international break has come and gone, it’s time to get back to the football that matters. This match-day, Juventus and Inter will look to maintain their perfect record against Fiorentina and Udinese respectively while Napoli take on Sampdoria. Otherwise, Roma host Roberto De Zerbi’s high-flying Sassuolo in what promises to be a top clash.

With match-day three upon us, here are FIVE players you should consider dropping from your fantacalcio side. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Bartosz Bereszyński (DEF, Sampdoria, Value 6.3) - The Sampdoria defender has endured a torrid start to the season as the blucerchiati have struggled immensely defensively. After conceding seven goals in their first two games against Lazio and Sassuolo, it won’t get any easier for Bereszyński and co. as they travel to the San Paolo to take on Napoli. With Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne, Jose Callejon and Hirving Lozano all expected to feature at one point or another, expect another goal-fest.

While the Pole was initially seen as a decent, low-cost option due to his offensive thrust, now may be a good time to get him off your fantacalcio side.

Pau Lopez (GK, Roma, Value 6.3) - Let’s get something straight – Pau Lopez has not been at fault for Roma’s porous defence and has played a minimal role in the goals conceded thus far. In the first two games of the season, it’s clear he’s a notable improvement on the departed Robin Olsen. That being said, the Spaniard could only do so much on his own and currently, the Roma rearguard is struggling. 

With a clash set against De Zerbi’s Sassuolo, it would be wise to shift the goalkeeper out of your side, even temporarily, until the giallorossi fix their issues at the back. After all, Domenico Berardi is in fine form and will be looking to hurt Roma’s suspect back four.

Kostas Manolas (DEF, Napoli, Value 13.8) - When the Greek international joined Napoli, he was expected to form a brilliant partnership alongside Senegalese stalwart Kalidou Koulibaly. Two games into the season, it’s been nothing of the sort and the partenopei have already conceded seven goals. While they have played Fiorentina and Juventus, two opponents who find the back of the net with ease, Napoli’s defensive concerns remain a cause for concern.

At 13.8 million euros, you would be wise the drop the former Roma man and replace him with another defender. For example, Inter’s Diego Godin is available for a mere 9 million euros and will be slotting in the nerazzurri’s defence regularly from this point forward.

Krzysztof Piątek (ATT, Milan, Value 12.9) - While it’s the second week in a row the Milan man features in this series, his quality is not in question. However, with rossoneri boss Marco Giampaolo still experimenting with his best eleven, it will take some time before we see the best from Piątek. Until now, the Polish international has started alongside Samu Castillejo in the first game and came off the bench in the second game.

Before joining Milan, Castillejo was primarily a winger and has struggled to adapt to Giampaolo’s narrow system. As a result, he makes for an awkward fit alongside Piątek. Until Giampaolo establishes his best eleven and the new signings are fully integrated into the team, I would keep the former Genoa man out of my fantacalcio side.

Nicolo Barella (MID, Inter, Value 12.3) - Another player of great quality features in this week’s piece. Again, his inclusion can be attributed to the competition for places at Inter, rather than his own form. Last match-day, Inter boss Antonio Conte went with Matias Vecino in his place, as Barella came off the bench with just over twenty minutes to play.

While the former Cagliari captain will surely become a starter for Inter in the long-run, Conte will arguably take time before giving him a starting position. After all, he did the same thing with a certain Paul Pogba. As a result, your 12.3 million could be better spent.

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