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Atalanta will have a bad time in Turin for several reasons, and it's hard to find any factors working in favor of them. Lets's start, in random order - Atalanta are a typical home team, yet lost 0-3 in Bergamo this year. Denis did attempt a penalty shot but failed and they suffered a blowout. Juventus won 14 of the last 15 times they met in Serie A, and the remaining match was a 2-2 tie, though that should be taken with a pinch of salt, as it was the last round game of 2009 which had no relevance on points as Inter were already champions (Del Piero and Trezeguet benched). Juventus won three of their last 5 duels by 3 goals and I expect a similar outcome this time as well, especially since Allegri was very angry about the points they wasted against Cesena, which could have practically secured the title for them, and also because Juventus would like a good result prior to key matches of this season. Those would be the home game against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League and the championship derby away against Roma in Rome. Atalanta? Colantuono is in major problems over absences, some from injuries, some from suspensions, and will have to work hard to come up with a starting 11. There are gaping holes in all lines, from Benalouane, Raimondi and Biava on defense, through Carmona in the midfield, to Moralez and Pinilla on offense. With all that in mind, the only question is how big of a lead will Juventus win with. With the return of Tevez, there should be plenty of goals in Sportiello's net. Details

When Palermo and Napoli are playing, there's lots of goals scored. They played a crazy game on San Paolo this season, it ended with three goals scored on each side (five goals in the first half-time), and they also both scored in the previous matches against each other. Palermo's offense look great with Vazquez and Dybala, but their defense isn't really good. The inconvincing Inter scored three goals against them lately, and shook the goal post twice, and they themselves didn't score even though they sent a few dangerous balls to Handanović. Now, their defense should be even worse because Gonzalez got suspended and Munoz left to Sampdoria, so coach Iachini's got to experiment. On the other hand, Napoli's offense is one of the most potent in the Serie A, they're playing an offensive football where they always try to score more than their opponent. In the last six championship matches, they've got five with three or more goals, and their defense doesn't look too secure, even though nobody is concerned with that considering their last series of wins. Details

Lazio have been playing great football this season, but considering their situation with the absences, Cesena are definitely underestimated here. Lazio won't have the suspended Radu and Biglia, and the injured Ciani, Braafheid, Gentiletti, Lulić, De Vrij, Tounkara, Felipe Anderson and Đorđević. The new defender Mauricio had injury issues, too, but considering all the absences, he'll have to suck it up and play. In the last six away matches, Lazio won only once, and with a minimal difference with Parma who are the last at the league table. By defeating Parma, Cesena boosted their self-confidence, Di Carlo doesn't have big absences to deal with, and he'll definitely not let Lazio get the points easily. In the first part of the season, Lazio defeated Cesena 3-0, but in the previous four duels, they never celebrated with over one goal difference. Details

Inter defeated Sassuolo with the incredible 7-0 twice out of three times, but considering how much their game oscillates, a much better bet would be for three or over goals scored. Inter play more offensively with Mancini as a coach, and the new reinforcements Podolski and Shaqiri should bring more goals in the long run. On the other hand, their defense is really weakened against Sassuolo, so Obi and Donkor should take the back positions. That could allow a lot of room for the dangerous Sassuolo forwards - Zaza, Berardi and Sansone. Both coaches announced offensive game, and trying to score one goal more than the opponent, so the number of goals in Reggio Emilia should be abundant. Details

Parma are under new ownership and awaiting reinforcements during the winter transfer period, but they have not arrived yet. The biggest reinforcements for Donadoni will be fully recovered best center back Palleta and experienced back Cassani, but regardless of that, they are plagued by absences and even a stronger team than a bottom feeder with 13 of 16 so far lost would feel them. Stopper Santacroce and midfielder Galloppa are suspended, best forward Biabiany and useful offense player Coda are still injured, useful midfielders Jorquera and Ghezzal are also struggling with injuries, and Donadoni is also missing midfielder Acquah and forward Belfodil who are off playing the African Nations Cup. Those are too many players gone for the team to be able to parry Montella's Fiorentina, and their attack with Cuadrado and Gomez. Fiorentina should easily win this, they did not lose to Parma even when it had a much better team in the past years. Details

Zeman left Sardinia and the odds at more goals in Cagliari's games immediately soared. Granted, it's not very likely Cagliary will still rush past opponents defense at all costs like they did under Zeman to end up either winning 4-0 or losing 0-4, but Zola won't change them much. The tactical plan is still 4-3-3, with Zola's only problem today being absences of Ibarbo and Sau. Regardless of that, he said they will try and win. Palermo's defense is not among the best ones in the league, on the contrary. But their offense is one of the top offenses in the league. Both coaches wast three points, both say their team will be offense-oriented, which should result in goals regardless of the fact Zeman left Sardinia. Details

Stadio Friuli is not one of those places where the opponents can count on points and there's also the city derby with Lazio Roma have next weekend. The odds at Roma are dropping anyway, due to Udinese's absences struggles. Starting center back Heuraux and well-experienced midfielder Pinzi are suspended, midfielder Badu is in Africa for the Cup of Nations. On top of that, the coach doesn't have Muriel in offense. Udinese have a good team regardless of that, but Roma seem to be better at the moment, they're in desperate need of a win to keep up with Juventus after failing to bring Milan down. Only Gervinho and Keita (African Cup of Nations) are out at Roma, but Garcia has brilliant substitutes Pjanic and Iturbe. Udinese will try and threaten Roma in fast breaks, but the team from Rome allow the Serie A opponents very little room (Bayern are above that level). Roma beat Udinese twice last season and should be able to do the same today. Details

Betting that one team won't score isn't nice, but it's hard to expect Buffon having to get the ball out of the net in the city derby. Torino's offense is horrible this season, and have a hard time scoring, they even miss the penalty kicks a lot, so the psychological problem became too great for Ventura's players. They can't score, and now they have a city derby against an opponent whom they didn't score in the last 10 games, even last year when they had the killer Immobile and Cerci in the offense. Juventus's defense is rock solid, and don't allow the opponent to score easily, if at all. Torino will play even more defensively today, in a 4-4-1-1 formation with Quagliarella as the center forward, which is an obvious sign Ventura will try to play 0-0. That will hardly work. Details

Zeman's Cagliari are the most attractive team of Serie A, not surprising when you know Čehov's attitude to always score one goal more than the opponent. Cagliari always play offensive, leaving their opponents lots of room to score themselves, but also allows them numerous chances to score. They could do more when it comes to actually scoring, but when they do it, they can even score four goals against the likes of Inter, Empoli, two against Lazio or three to Napoli in the last round. Fiorentina did have problems with scoring, but that problem is getting minor, and the game against Cagliari could leave them with more chances to score. An offensive football is expected, and we should mention that Cagliari scored four on San Siro against Inter, when Zeman said what works best for his tactics is when the opponents have three defenders in the line - and that's exactly how Fiorentina will play today. Details

Cesena are a fighting team who want to avoid relegation with a tough game, mirroring their coach Bisoli on the court. The fact remains they're also objectively the weakest team in the league, with their roster patched together from Atalanta's "leftovers", and even Atalanta aren't doing great this season. After they beat Parma 1-0 in the first round they forgot how to win, and will hardly remember against the up and coming Genoa team, who are playing great football and scoring very good results at the start of the season. Gasperini came to Genoa last year to save them from relegation, but he used the summer transfers to bring players ideal for his 3-4-3 setup. With Matri or Pinillo in the center of their offense he has deadly forwards who can take advantage of wing penetration, which is where Genoa should best deal with Cesena. The home team are at an advantage as they're used to playing on artificial grass, but Genoa have better individual quality who can use the strange bounce with long range shots. Genoa's quality should have no problem neutralizing Cesena's aggression. Details

Inter have not lost against Torino in any of their ls 22 matches, and mostly won them as well - especially at the Olimpico. As we could already see both teams in the Euro League qualifiers this season, one gets the impression the tradition will continue. Inter seem like a well assembled team, Mazzarri got rid of the last few 'old hands' (Cambiasso, Zanetti, Samuel, Milito), and set up a team after his liking - a tough, fighting squad with two destructives (Medel and M'Villa) and organizers (Kovačić, Hernanes) on midfield, and two excellent forwards (Icardi, Osvaldo). Torino on the other hand seem to be doing very well on defense, but one can tell they'll be missing Immobile and Cerci on offense. As their forward Barreto will not be playing either today, this could be felt even more. Inter should demonstrate to Torino that they plan to get back to the very top of Seria A this season.
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Udinese and Empoli's forwards are the best proof that the age isn't the only key of success, since they're almost 40, and are still ruthless in shaking the opponents' nets. Di Natale scored five goals in the last week's cup match, and should be the biggest threat for Empoli's goal now, too, because a few players who were brought during the transfer window work ideally with him - their main characteristic is a good final pass. Pinzi and Silva are out today, but Udinese seem very strong on paper this season, and they should show a difference in quality against Empoli who didn't make any changes this summer. Empoli rely on playing well together, and the veterans Tavano and Maccarone in the offense, but Maccarone is out today, which is a big handicap because there's no real alternative for him. Di Natale and the rest of the team from Udine should easily start the season with three points. Details

Goal festival on Cagliari's matches will be a good bet this season, and in the first away match against Sassuolo, it's even better, for a few reasons. Cagliari will play for a goal more lead by Zdenek Zeman, and today, they play against a team who plays the offensive 4-3-3 formation, and is lead by Eusebio Di Francesco, a coach who was lead by the experienced Czech when he was just a player. The second important thing for this match is the goalies. Pegolo got injured for Sassuolo, ans Consigli from Atalanta got signed yesterday, which means he still can't play, so the third goalie Pomini will tend the goal. Also, their best center back Cannavaro is suspended. On the other hand, Cagliari lost their first goalie Avramov this summer, and the best center back Astori, and the substitutes they brought are definitely not reinforcements, but rookies. We can expect lots of goals in this match. Details

If the goalie Consigli didn't leave Atalanta yesterday and went to Sassuolo - this would be the bet of the day in Serie A, but even like this, Colantuono's team's win should be a sure bet. Atalanta's team is very well constructed in the last years, and Colantuono only upgraded it with players who should bring more speed for the counter attacks - backs Zappacosta and Drame. With that, the creative midfielder D'Allesandro and the fast-legged forward Boakye were brought with a plan. It's obvious Colantuono wants to create a firm wall in front of the goal, and quickly get to the opponent's goal in few moves. To play like that, Verona is an ideal opponent in the first round, they're a team that made the most changes in the first league during the transfer window. Verona's big plus last season was that the players knew each other well, but now, Mandorlini has big problems because almost the entire team was changed. Atleti Azzuri stadium isn't friendly for guests, and Atalanta should use that today. Details

The tradition is on Milan's side, but matches that Inzaghi lead so far didn't leave anyone in awe. It's obvious that the team still has to practice playing together, and Inzaghi also had problems assembling the offense for this match because the only real forward he has is El Shaarawy, Add to that suspensions for the center back Mexes and the back De Sciglio. On the other hand, Lazio worked great during the transfer window and has no significant absence problems, so they definitely won't go to San Siro with a white flag. The bookmakers overestimated Milan in this match. Details

Livorno are out of the fight to stay in the league even though math is still holding them in. The fact is that their defense is a disaster, and it was the bad defensive game that got them eliminated. Sometimes they happened to score a goal more than the opponent, but that won't be possible today because they're playing without their key offense player, Paulinho, and also the second offense option, Emeghara. Those aren't Nicola's only problems, he's also missing a few important midfielders, and the defense is bad anyway, even though the good news is that the young goalie Bardi is coming back. Fiorentina lost against Sassuolo on Tuesday, in a crazy match with seven goals where you could see them relaxed after the Cup, but Montella wants to confirm their fourth place, and that can be done only if they win today (because Inter won yesterday). It's hard to expect the Tuscany derby to end with other result than Fiorentina's win. Details

Torino are a point ahead of the competition in the battle for the sixth position leading to the European league, but Parma could get that same position with a win. Although Torino have been playing great lately, and have a great streak of success, I still see this as underestimating Donadoni's team, as this is an even match in which both teams have an even chance. Torino look great carried by Cerci and the league's top scorer Immobile, but in other segments they are no match to Parma, who would be OK with Torino attacking so they can threaten them with counterattacks through Biabiany, Schelotto and Cassano. Unlike the home team, they have no absences, and as both teams need a win, I think Parma should be covered. Details

Sassuolo have been playing great since Di Francesco returned to the helm, and since their numerous reinforcements since winter got tuned in (an entire new team). Di Francesco decided to go all out in the final part of the game so they're playing with three attackers (mostly the great Berardi, Sansone and Zaz, although Floro Flores and Floccari get a chance here and there), and on defense he is covered by the great Pegolo. After a sensational win over Fiorentina, Sassuolo got out of the relegation zone two rounds prior to the end and now have a real match point, as Genoa are coming to Reggio Emilia, a team with very poor results since they secured relegation. They also have huge issues with absences all over the lineup, and once an expect Sassuolo to win, and then hope that other results line up so they don't have to look for points against Milan in San Siro in the last round. Milan will certainly need the points for Europe by then, so there will be no relaxing, but today against Genoa the situation is different, they are at home, and should score valuable 3 points. Details

Bologna and Catania are both playing to avoid relegation, although a victory itself would not save either of them. Not exactly a situation to be envied by others. Bologna are a favorite due to the home ground and entering the match with 3 points more, but the fact is Catania seem to be doing much better lately, and this is an even match. Though Catania have not been doing as well away as they have at their Massimino this season, we should point out that their quick players are ideal for the fast counterattacks Dall'Ari will be looking for, and they also, unlike Bologna, have the forwards that can score. Since Diamanti left Bologna have had miserable offense, today they'll be playing with two forwards (Bianchi, Cristaldo) meaning there will be more room on defense - and Catania can use that. As a tied game is a loss for both teams, if the score is tied one can expect a race to score in the final moments, where Catania should have a better shot at winning than Bologna. Details

A victory in the city derby extended Milan's hope of another exit tot Europe, and in order to be 6th for at least an hour Seedorf's team need to beat Atalanta. The Bergamo team were a regular customer in their prior matches, and have also dropped in form a lot since they managed to avoid relegation. They also have huge issues with absences on defense, while Milan are only missing their best goalie Abbiati (but Amelia proved he can be counted on in the Champions League as well). It's hard to believe a decimated defense can stop Balotelli, Kaka, Taarabt and the others, especially in a match in which points mean nothing for the home team and everything to the away team. Details