Serie A Betting for Match Day 34 – Previews and Picks

Juventus finally won the scudetto last week as the Old Lady beat Fiorentina – somewhat unconvincingly – 2-1 in front of its own fans. Its Juve’s eighth successive title and the odds will already be fairly short on a ninth for next season.

In possibly even bigger news, Chievo won just its second game of the season away at Lazio, severely denting the Rome club’s chances of European qualification. The Verona side has already been relegated and the 2-1 win was probably the shock of the weekend.

We are now looking forward to match day 34 with the games starting on Saturday this week – and once again I’m going to take a look at the fixtures from a betting perspective. I’ve chosen Inter vs Juventus as my featured game of the week.

Featured Game – Inter vs Juventus

With most of the top teams doing their best not to pick up three points last week the 1-1 draw between Inter and Roma has benefitted the Milan club considerably and another three points against the champions would be perfect for Luciano Spalletti’s team.

Here are the latest game odds courtesy of Betway.

It will be interesting to see whether Juventus are up for this game, with the title already claimed. Professional pride should still be on show however, so an exciting game can be expected.

Before I make my pick and predictions I’m going to take a closer look at both teams.

Inter

Fraught relationships seem to have been put to one side – at least on the pitch – at Inter now as the Nerazzurri look to have seen off the rest of the chasing pack and consolidated third place in Serie A. Mauro Icardi is back playing again and the side have looked far more settled than a few months ago when it looked like Inter would experience its annual collapse.

Last week’s draw with Roma was to be expected – giving Inter a valuable point, but also taking two away from one of its rivals for a Champions League place. Although Inter still faces Napoli, as well as Juve, before the end of the campaign, Spalletti’s side can congratulate itself on a successful season.

Juventus

Although the players, coaches and fans celebrated another league title last weekend after the game with Fiorentina, Juventus coach Max Allegri will know that it is the Champions League that is now expected from his side. Cristiano Ronaldo was brought to Turin for that very reason and an exit at the quarter final stage will not be accepted.

Juve has nothing to prove in Serie A though and has once again strolled to the title without much opposition. The emergence of Moise Kean has been possibly the most exciting part of the second half of the season and he would seem likely to be given a starting role against Inter.

Betting Pick and Prediction

This really comes down to whether Juventus will feel like playing now the league has been won. If Allegri decides to change around the team then the hunger for game time may result in the visitors going for a win but otherwise it is Inter who will be marginally more intent on winning more points.

Mauro Icardi still has a lot to prove as far as Inter fans are concerned – and it may already be too late for the Argentinian striker – but I fancy the home side to pick up three more points on Saturday.

My Pick: Inter to Win 2.50

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Predictions for the Week’s Other Serie A Games

Here is how I think the rest of the weekend’s Serie A games will shape up.

Bologna vs Empoli

A convincing 3-0 victory at home to Sampdoria last week gave Bologna some space between itself and the bottom three for the first time in quite a while – and another win against a relegation-threatened side should just about keep the Rossoblu up for another season.

Empoli’s draw against Atalanta turned last week’s home game against SPAL into a great opportunity for Aurelio Andreazzoli’s team to put the pressure on the teams above them as it attempts to retain its Serie A status. But a 4-2 defeat has changed everything again and now Empoli sit four points from safety.

Bologna is on a fine run of form and manager Sinisa Mihajlovic knows that another victory will mean that his job is almost done.

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Roma vs Cagliari

Roma has not been in the top four all season and Atalanta’s victory in Naples on Monday has heaped the pressure back on Claudio Ranieri’s team in the race for Champions League qualification. The Giallorossi will be confident here though, coming off the point picked up at Inter.

Cagliari is in the middle of its most impressive run of the season, but has struggled away from home all season. With a mid table finish looking more and more likely, Rolando Maran’s team may take its foot off the gas in Rome and look to pick up more points in the safety of the Sardegna Arena.

Roma desperately need the points if it wants to play in the premier European competition next season – and all three should go its way against Cagliari.

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Frosinone vs Napoli

Strange things happen in Serie A at this time of season as teams who have nothing to play for suddenly start losing games that they would ordinarily win. That’s what Frosinone will be hoping for anyway, as nothing short of a victory will be good enough for the Canarini if it has any hopes of staying up.

Napoli had seemingly conceded the title to Juventus after their meeting at the start of March ended in defeat for Carlo Ancelotti’s side. A concerted push for Europa League triumph was expected but that fizzled out against Arsenal too – so now we have a club just seeing out the rest of the season safe in the knowledge that Champions League soccer is all but assured for next year.

Knowing the way Italian soccer can work in the last weeks of a season – and some very attractive odds for a home win – I’m going to go for a Frosinone victory here.

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Chievo vs Parma

Can Chievo win two games in a row for the first time this season? It is already far too late for the Verona team as far as survival goes but last week’s stunning 2-1 victory over Lazio in the Stadio Olimpico showed that it does have some pride still to play for.

Parma managed its third draw in three games thanks to a magnificent free kick goal from the veteran Portuguese defender Bruno Alves last week against Milan. That point helped Parma just about keep some distance from the bottom three but it is still far too close for comfort for Roberto D’Aversa’s side.

With Parma still needing points – but seemingly unable to actually win a game any more – I’m going for a draw that has a fairly attractive price.

Place Your Bet Here

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SPAL vs Genoa

SPAL’s 4-2 victory away at Empoli was a fantastic result for the minnows of Serie A and should see the Leonardo Semplici’s side safe for another year of top flight soccer next season. Five wins in six have seen the Ferrara club climb out of real trouble and this one looks very winnable too.

There have been rumors surrounding the future of Cesare Prandelli as manager at Genoa in the last week. But his position seems to be safe for now – despite a run of form that has seen the Rossoblu pick up just one point out of a possible 15 since the win over Juventus. Things are not looking good for Genoa and this could be another tough game for the visitors.

SPAL will be full of confidence after its recent winning streak and three more points against a poor Genoa team could even catapult the club into the top half of the table.

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Sampdoria vs Lazio

Samp’s 3-0 defeat to Bologna last weekend was something of a surprise, but Marco Giampaolo’s team is much better at home and could well achieve its tenth win of the season at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris. Europa League hopes have not been completely extinguished yet so a big display is needed from the home side.

Lazio’s shock loss at home to Chievo has really affected its chances of European qualification. Not only did the Biancocelesti add to its ever growing injury list, it also had two men sent off – and that could be a real problem for Lazio as it goes into the last few games of the season.

Simone Inzaghi’s side was looking like it might even gatecrash the top four a few weeks ago but the side has imploded since and I fancy Sampdoria to add to that pain here.

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Torino vs AC Milan

Although I chose Inter vs Juve game as my featured game this week, this match up is an intriguing one with European qualification permutations at the fore. Torino’s five game unbeaten run has included just two victories but the Granata has looked like one of the better teams in Serie A recently and will be confident of a win at home.

Milan has just about spluttered back into life after some poor results recently. Gennaro Gattuso’s side managed a point away at Parma last week after a fractious victory over Lazio and has real ambitions of making fourth place its own.

This could be the game of the weekend with two teams needing the points to qualify for Europe. A draw that doesn’t really please anyone could be the outcome.

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Atalanta vs Udinese

Atalanta’s 2-1 victory away at Napoli was probably its finest result in the last few months as it gave Gian Piero Gasperini’s side a very good chance of coming back into the race for the fourth Champions League spot. With its remaining fixtures looking favorable the Bergamo club might be the ones to watch over the next few weeks.

Udinese’s 1-1 draw at home to Sassuolo has done the club no favors as it slipped down to 17th in the table. With other sides picking up points it may only be the current gap between the Zebrette and Empoli that keeps Igor Tudor’s side up.

Atalanta will be hot favorites to win this one and should manage another comfortable victory in front of its home crowd.

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Fiorentina vs Sassuolo

Fiorentina’s defeat at Juventus last week makes it over two moths since the Florence club enjoyed a Serie A victory – a record that has seen Stefano Pioli leave as head coach. European qualification is still possible via the Coppa Italia and that would seem to be the main focus for the Viola now.

Sassuolo can regard itself as just about safe for the season after another draw last week away at Udinese. The Neroverdi has been unremarkable but steady this season but a mid table finish for a club of this size should probably be seen as a success.

These two sides have drawn 30 games between them this season – including a 3-3 thriller in Reggio Emilia earlier in the season – so 3.60 for the draw looks like great value.

Place Your Bet Here

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Final Words

The title may have already been won but there is a lot still to decide in Italy – and results from these games will make a big difference at both ends of the table.

Although the relegation spots are still to be confirmed it is the race for European qualification that looks more interesting at the moment and there are some excellent looking games to be played this weekend.

As ever, let me know what you think of my predictions and picks – and enjoy the games.