Serie A tips, best bets, predictions and previews: Matchday 13 picks
We have another weekend of Serie A action, and James Cantrill has previewed the two big games of the round: Atalanta v Napoli and Juventus v Inter MIlan.
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Football betting tips: Serie A
1pt Nicolo Barella anytime goalscorer in Juventus v Inter Milan at 8/1 (bet365)
0.5pt Ademola Lookman to score anytime in Atalanta v Napoli at 7/2 (bet365)
Juventus v Inter Milan
- Kick-off time: 19:45 GMT, Sunday
- TV Channel: BT Sport 1
- Juventus 2/1 | Draw 23/10 | Inter Milan 11/8
Saturday’s intriguing matchup is followed by the Derby d'Italia on Sunday evening as Juventus welcome Inter Milan to Turin.
The hosts Champions League hung over them like a cloud, their confirmed exit from the competition may be less than ideal, but provides them with some respite and frees the Old Lady to focus solely on continuing their serge up the table.
Injury has ravaged Massimiliano Allegri’s squad, eight were unavailable for their trip to Lecce, meaning the burden fell on young Nicolo Fagioli to provide the magic with a stunning strike that ultimately proved to be the difference.
The manner of the victory for Juve was less than convincing though, only one goal separated the sides and with Morten Hjulmand rattling the post, Allegri’s men were looking to leave southern Italy with all three points.
Only two points separate them from Inter Milan, however, the gulf in between the sides seems considerably larger.
The visitors made it five wins form their last six, form that has seen La Nerazzurri revive their title ambitions and book their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League for the second consecutive season.
NICOLO BARELLA has been a lynchpin in his side's revival, and he can SCORE ANYTIME this weekend.
Only Lautaro Martínez can beat the Italian mystroes tally of five goals for Inter, with the midfielder scoring in each of Inter’s last three league games, already beating his last tally for last season.
With a career goals per 90 average of 0.09, he is hardly formidable, however, his recent form cannot be ignored and with Coral pricing this at 3/1, bet365’s price cannot be ignored.
Atalanta v Napoli
- Kick-off time: 17:00 GMT, Saturday
- TV Channel: BT Sport 1
- Atalanta 12/5 | Draw 13/5 | Napoli 21/20
The cynosure of Italian football takes place on Saturday evening as leaders Napoli head to Bergamo to battle their closest contenders Atalanta.
The visitors look unstoppable, 12 games in and yet to taste defeat this season, a record only Real Madrid and PSG can boast in Europe’s top five divisions.
I Ciucciarelli brushed aside Sassuolo in their most recent game as Luciano Spalletti’s side strides out at the top of the league.
Victor Osimhen scored with his sides first shot, then helped himself to two more, bagging his first Serie A hattrick and drawing level with Marko Arnautovic on seven goals in the pursuit of the Capocannoniere.
With a hand in eight domestic goals this campaign, no doubt the Nigerian frontman will be key if Napoli are going to get a result on Saturday.
The five points in between La Dea and their first ever Scudetto looks quite a gulf to overcome, even at this early stage, however, a home victory would go a long way to doing so moving them to within two points of the helm.
Gian Piero Gasperini's side remained part of the conversation at the summit despite picking up their first set back of the campaign, a defeat courtesy of Lazio, in their penultimate game.
They dusted themselves off, bouncing back with a dominant display at Empoli.
ADEMOLA LOOKMAN doubled his side's lead, scoring his fifth league goal as the Englishman appears to be loving life in Italy.
This was the attackers fourth goal in his last five appearances since breaking into the side, he has been deployed as a forward, repaying the managers faith in with a cluster of sharp finishes.
The former Fox had six attempts against Empoli, averaging 2.4 per game as a striker and generating an xG of 2.85.
Given his scintillating form, his price to SCORE ANYTIME APPEALS here, especially considering the same bet is as short as 5/2 elsewhere.
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