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Italian Serie A: Week Five Preview

Week Five Preview

Our football analyst previews the Italian Serie A week five action which kicks off on Friday 21 September 2017.

Cristiano Ronaldo finally broke his Serie A duck with Juventus last weekend after the Portuguese superstar scored a brace to maintain their winning form. Before you know it, the Old Lady will be running away with the Scudetto but that will take its toll in around about 20 games from now.

The rest of the top-flight challengers are showing off their skills with a few surprise inclusions vying for the UEFA Champions League places.

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Friday 21 September

Sassuolo 9/10 | Draw 51/20 | Empoli 3/1
Sassuolo have won both their home games and will be looking to make it three wins on the spin. They were impressive last time out despite going down 2-1 at Juve and the Black and Greens will be hungry to get back to winning ways.

Empoli are winless in their last three matches and that doesn’t look likely to improve here. The home win is tipped to arrive at 9/10.

Saturday 22 September

Parma 13/10 | Draw 43/20 | Cagliari 22/10 
Parma pulled off a shock 1-0 victory at the San Siro courtesy of Inter Milan’s on-loan Federico Dimarco. The new boys on the block are unbeaten at home against Cagliari in the last five head-to-head meetings. 
The Islanders have been fairly decent with a 1-0 victory away to Atalanta before playing to a 1-1 draw on home soil against AC Milan. However, Cagliari lost 11 of their 19 travels last term and that just doesn’t sit well with me. Take Parma to collect maximum points.
Fiorentina 6/10 | Draw 28/10 | SPAL 9/2 
Fiorentina tasted their first defeat of the season with a 1-0 loss to Napoli. Prior to that, they had won back-to-back home games, scoring seven goals and conceding just once. 
SPAL 2013 have been at the top of their game with three wins from four matches and find themselves in second place on the standings. Get on Both Teams to Score – Yes – at even money.
Sampdoria 29/10 | Draw 26/10 | Inter Milan 9/10 
At the time of writing, Sampdoria have been in ruthless form with two wins on the bounce, scoring eight goals without shipping any. Inter Milan were extremely disappointing last weekend, suffering a 1-0 defeat at home against Parma. 
The hosts had one of the best home records in the league last term and I’m expecting them to have the upper hand on Saturday evening. Take Sampdoria to edge the win.
Sunday 23 September

Torino 32/10 | Draw 26/10 | Napoli 8/10
Torino are undefeated since their opening round 1-0 defeat to title-challengers Roma. The hosts are off the back of a 1-1 draw away to Udinese and will be hoping to grind out a good result against Scudetto-contenders Napoli. 
The Naples have won three of their four matches and will be looking to build on that. The last six meetings have produced 27 goals at an average of 4.5 per game. The Over 2.5 Goals market looks ripe for the picking at 7/10.

Lazio 9/20 | Draw 36/10 | Genoa 11/2
Lazio looked to have found a winning formula following their poor start to the season. The Eagles have won back-to-back games and look likely to build on that but their record against Genoa leaves a lot to be desired. 
The Griffin have shown great form as well with two wins from three matches and will have one goal in mind – keep Lazio at bay. The Win/Draw Double Chance on Genoa is priced up at 15/10, get on!
Chievo Verona 21/10 | Draw 43/20 | Udinese 14/10
Chievo are at the foot of the table without a victory after four games. Udinese have been their usual inconsistent selves but are still showing much more promise in comparison to their opponents. However, they lack firepower on the road and should struggle here. 
With both teams battling to win games, I’m expecting a low-scoring contest. The Totals – Under 2.5 Goals – market is tipped at 13/20.

Bologna 4/1 | Draw 28/10 | Roma 13/20
Relegation-threatened Bologna are winless with three losses from four matches, conceding five goals without finding the back of the net. Roma have by no means hit the ground running but this will be the perfect opportunity for them to build some momentum. 
There is almost no way you can back Bologna to upset the applecart with their kind of form. Roma haven’t impressed either but they should do enough to come away with the win.
AC Milan 21/20 | Draw 24/10 | Atalanta 26/10 
AC Milan were held to a 1-1 draw at Cagliari last time out and will be looking to redeem themselves with another home win on Sunday evening. Atalanta have been dismal of late with two losses on the bounce. 
At this point, it’s difficult to predict what kind of Atalanta side will show up but the Milan giants are improving by the week. Back the Rossoneri to get the job done with a narrow victory.
Frosinone 14/1 | Draw 57/10 | Juventus 2/11
The final Serie A match of the weekend will see Frosinone take on Juventus. The hosts have been embarrassing with three losses from four games, conceding 10 goals without finding the back of the net. 
The Old Lady have won all four of their matchups and I just can’t see Frosinone claiming a point let alone three. Back Juve on the (-1) Handicap at 5/10.
TREBLE TIPPED @ 4/1
Fiorentina vs SPAL 2013 BTTS 1/1 
Torino vs Napoli Over 2.5 Goals 7/10 
Juventus (-1) Handicap 5/10

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