Serie A tips, best bets, predictions and previews: Matchday 26 picks
James Cantrill looks for winners from Serie A, and he has a familiar name among his selections.
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Football betting tips: Serie A
2.5pts Victor Osimhen to score anytime in Napoli v Atalanta at 7/5 (bet365)
1.5pt Sassuolo win/draw double chance v Roma at 6/5 (General)
1pt Spezia win/draw double chance v Inter at 19/10 (BetVictor)
Roma v Sassuolo
- Kick-off time: 17:00 GMT, Sunday
- Roma 4/6 | Draw 11/4 | Sassuolo 17/4
In the game before they met Juventus, Roma became the first side in 27 years to lose a Serie A match to Cremonese. Le Tigri's run of 30 top flight games without a win was the joint worst in history.
A disastrous evening in Lombardy saw Jose Mourinho receive his third red card of the season, more than anybody in the division, and his fifth of his tenure in Rome.
Due to a successful appeal, 'The Special One' got to watch his side bounce back with a victory over the Old Lady from the dugouts at the Stadio Olimpico.
Gianluca Mancini was calmness personified as he smashed home what proved to be the winner. Hard to believe it was the same person that was getting escorted down the tunnel at the Giovanni Zini Stadium a week earlier.
😂🥶 There are two types of people in this world: one is José Mourinho, the other is Tammy Abraham! pic.twitter.com/zpBfuQnJ57
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) March 6, 2023
I think their manager's inconsistent behaviour depicts La Giallorossi's campaign pretty well. Roma have only won three league games in a row once, and two or more three times.
Following a defeat to Cremonese with a victory over Juventus, the most successful club in Italian history, one that would be second if not for a 15-point deduction, is typical Roma.
With that considered I will be siding with SASSUOLO WIN/DRAW DOUBLE CHANCE.
I Neroverdi's last six games have seen them best AC Milan, Atalanta and Lecce and draw with Udinese.
Domestic duties come either side of Roma's European clashes against Real Sociedad, Sassuolo could capitalise.
Score prediction: Roma 1-1 Sassuolo (Sky Bet odds: 5/1)
Odds correct at 1300 GMT (08/03/23
Spezia v Inter Milan
- Kick-off time: 19:45 GMT, Friday
- TV Channel: BT Sport 2
- Spezia 13/2 | Draw 18/5 | Inter 2/5
Inter Milan lead the pack that are chasing Champions League football, currently sat in second and three points clear of local rivals and fifth-placed AC Milan.
They bounced back from defeat against Bologna with a victory over Lecce, no mean feat considering Lecce have picked up points against Lazio, Milan and Napoli this campaign.
Friday night's trip to the Stadio Alberto Picco provides Simone Inzaghi with another opportunity to rack up three points and gain some momentum as we head into the closing stages of the season.
An away victory is not a foregone conclusion, though. Inter have been pretty unpredictable this campaign, losing seven domestic games. Last campaign, they only lost four times.
With a trip to Porto upcoming on Tuesday, this clash against Aquilotti is a real banana skin. La Nerazzurri head to Portugal with a marginal lead to protect, so could rotate on Friday.
As for the hosts, last weekend was a huge one at the foot of the table as four of the bottom five met.
Two games into his tenure and Leonardo Semplici remains unbeaten, but two draws have done little to bolster his side's survival hopes.
SPEZIA had the better of the chances against Verona, and came from behind to hold Udinese.
At the chunky prices available, I am happy to take them DOUBLE CHANCE on Friday.
Score prediction: Spezia 0-1 Inter (Sky Bet odds: 11/2)
Odds correct at 1100 GMT (08/03/23)
Napoli v Atalanta
- Kick-off time: 17:00 GMT, Saturday
- TV Channel: BT Sport 2
- Napoli 8/13 | Draw 3/1 | Atalanta 17/4
Last weekend Napoli were beaten, a result that ended a run of seven straight victories, and one which was only their fourth defeat in 33 games across all competitions this season.
Matías Vecino, one of Luciano Spalletti former players at Inter, dealt the blow, a thunderbolt from range as Lazio edged to a 1-0 victory.
The commentator said the fact that Napoli had conceded was "a headline in itself", and it is hard to disagree. This was the first time they had conceded in over 500 minutes and only the third goal they have allowed in 2023.
Maurizio Sarri gave us a tactical masterclass and provided Atalanta with the blueprint on how to best Serie A's sweethearts.
Lazio congested the middle and got the wingers to double up with the full-backs to prevent overloads out wide, giving Spalletti more issues than he has had all season.
Atalanta’s form has been faltering of late, though, only one win in their last six and four defeats over that period.
In those games they have only kept two clean sheets and scored three goals, I do not think they will have what it takes to keep out the league's top goalscorers.
Napoli have found the net in 88% of their games and their frontman VICTOR OSIMHEN has scored 32% of their 82 goals. With a goals per 90 average of 0.98 in the Italian top flight, the 7/5 available for him to SCORE ANYTIME is simply too big.
His failure to score last weekend ended a run of seven games in which he bagged. The Nigerian frontman rattled the bar 12 minutes from time and I expect him to be back amongst the goals here.
Score prediction: Napoli 2-0 Atalanta (Sky Bet odds: 7/1)
Odds correct at 1230 GMT (08/03/23)
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