Bet Study 29 December

Arsenal - Newcastle 1.50 - 7.68

The Arsenal vs. West Ham fixture was postponed and the Arsenal players will come fresh and in high spirits after their recent back to back wins. Rather strong favourites, in my opinion. Both Giroud and Rosicky will be available again and the Arsenal squad is surprisingly fit for this time of the season.
Newcastle will have Tiote back for this game, but they have to manage without two of their starting players vs. Man United. Anita and M Williamson will not be available and no Jonas Gutierrez, Cabaye or Ben Arfa either. Home winner.

Aston Villa - Wigan 2.39 - 3.60

Definitely the away win. I should not talk about luck or bad luck, but Wigan have played better than their results reflect lately. A dubious penalty won the game for Arsenal vs Wigan and on Boxing Day Wigan matched Everton all the way at Goodison Park. Time for a three pointer tomorrow.
Villa have lost 0-12 in their last two games and there is every possibility that their young players have lost their self esteem and confidence. It is good to have to some old heads in the team in cases like this, but there are none in the present Villa squad. It looks like the Villa defender N Baker will miss this game. They already miss a host of players including A Weimann, Agbonlahor and N’Zogbia.
Wigan can always defeat Villa, but their winning chances will be better than usual tomorrow. Backing Wigan.

Everton - Chelsea 3.00 - 2.56

Backing Chelsea. In form, confident, tight at the back again, Chelsea are strong enough to win this fixture. Squad wise they look perfect with Ramirez back for this game and only J Terry missing at the moment.
Everton will have to manage without the suspended Fellaini again and this time D Gibson will probably be missing due to a hamstring injury. Away win.

Fulham - Swansea 2.22 - 3.60

It is just not working for Fulham. One win in their last eleven games after their 1-1 home draw with Southampton. Fit again B Ruiz came on as a second half substitute, Berbatov and Rodallega started upfront, Sidwell was back from his suspension and Fulham should have done better against Southampton. B Ruiz will start tomorrow, but D Duff will probably miss out again.
Quite expectedly Swansea were slightly subdued at Reading (0-0) after their big game against Man United. Coach Laudrup was happy with the point, but losing their top striker Michu to an injury was a downer. Michu will miss tomorrow’s match. Advantage Fulham, for sure.

Manchester Utd - W B A 1.33 - 11.00

With Giggs and Scholes starting in their midfield and W Rooney absent I could not see Man United defeating Newcastle on Boxing Day. In true United way Ferguson’s men found a way of winning the match, but OK, also Newcastle missed important players. Rooney will miss this game, but A Young, P Jones and D Wehlbeck will probably all be back and time for Cleverley and /or D Fletcher to start in their midfield. Vidic to start again.
WBA are a top six side and this 1.33 on the home win is way too short.
Defenders J Olsson and Popov as well as Mulumbu are all major doubts for this difficult fixture. Will they be rested ? Just my hunch, games come thick and fast and maybe next game, at home to Fulham, is more winnable for WBA. I expect United to start with a stronger midfield in this game, but at the end of the day, this 1.33 represents poor value.

Norwich - Manchester City 6.78 - 1.60

Grant Holt was fit to play for Norwich at home to Chelsea, but they were not really close. It was certainly not a great game, but Chelsea were mostly in control, if you can be in control 1-0 up. I do not think Norwich have gone out of form. They are at best a mid-table side despite their recent great run. The Norwich coach is talking about rotating his squad for this game. Definitely out is the injured defender S Whittaker.
V Kompany was back for Man City at Sunderland and they fielded their best offensive players, but to no avail. One injury time goal at home to Reading and now no goal against Sunderland and it is dead right to name City a crisis club at the moment. Where is their wing play? Many ask that question. Nasri and Clichy will be back in contention tomorrow.
Mancini has to win this game, it is as simple as that, and Man City have had very few problems dealing with Norwich these last couple of seasons. Away win, but questionable odds.

Q P R - Liverpool 4.26 - 2.00

R Green, the QPR keeper, did not have the best of days on Boxing Day against WBA and I should think that J Cesar will stand between the QPR sticks in this Sunday fixture. R Nelsen, defender, was sick, replaced by A Ferdinand, but Nelsen will hopefully be back for this game. It looks like Park will be missing again.
Liverpool took an early lead at Stoke, but then the fun was over for Rodgers’ team. They were outfought, outmuscled and well beaten. Bound to happen again. The present Liverpool side can be a bit soft. Evens on Liverpool will not do and I am closer to backing a hard working QPR side in this match.

Reading - West Ham 2.95 - 2.60

Late on at home to Swansea Reading pushed for the win, but for the first hour they were happy keeping the 0-0 result. This is of course another winnable game for Reading, but it has become almost impossible trusting them to win in this league. I mean they faced Swansea at the best of times , but failed, and tomorrow they will be up against a well rested West Ham side. No game for West Ham on Boxing day and their striker C Cole will be allowed to play. I prefer the away win alternative.

Stoke - Southampton 1.83 - 5.00

Great win for Stoke against Liverpool (3-1) and the odds on the home win must have made every Stoke backer extremely happy. Only the bookies know why Liverpool were the favourites.
Stoke impressed and they are playing their best football ever at the moment. To see Kenwyne Jones playing upfront again and enjoying himself is a special treat. I thought he was in the cold forever, but coach Pulis knew better. M Upson and R Shotton will replace the suspended Stoke defenders R Shawcross and G Cameron in this game.
Southampton deserved their 1-1 draw at Fulham. They were the more ambitious side in the second half and Fulham can have no complaints.
It would be foolish to say that Stoke will not defeat this Southampton side tomorrow. No it is about the odds. It was more exciting and, as it turned out, more gratifying to back Stoke as outsiders against Liverpool.

Sunderland - Tottenham 3.94 - 2.12

Not for the first time Sunderland defeated Man City at the Stadium of Light and I have to say I was rather pleased. Did they deserve the 1-0 win? Well, Man City have acute scoring problems and I do not give much for their dominance in the match. Sunderland missed defender O’Shea against City, but he should be back for this game. His defensive colleague Danny Rose will not play tomorrow against his parent club.
I have just seen Tottenham totally dominate the first half against Aston Villa without finding the net, but Defoe scored their opening goal in the 56th minute of the second half. Then G Bale scored three and it was men against boys at the Villa Park. C Dempsey was not fit to play for Spurs. He is an injury doubt again, but Dembele should be OK.
Sunderland look confident again and this 2.12 on the away win is a bit on the short side. Still my choice will be the away win.

Bet studying

West Ham - Stoke 2.10 - 4.12

A bit weakened defensively West Ham had no major problems preventing the Newcastle strikers from scoring against them. Will they be as effective stopping P Crouch? Well Crouch and his Stoke have been surprisingly quiet this season and although they defeated QPR 1-0 they were far from convincing. Coach Pulis had changed his formation, but according to unanimous reports QPR were the better side at the Britannia Stadium. Pulis will easily accept that verdict, as Stoke got their all important three points.
West Ham, mostly convincing this season, up against a Stoke side less impressive than last season and one has to say that the home win alternative looks much more attractive.
West Ham have quite a few injury concerns, as M Jarvis, Benayoun and G McCartney all had to leave the match with injuries last week. M Maiga, O’Neil and G Demel did just fine replacing the trio. It looks worst for McCartney at this moment. J Collins will probably be back in the home defence. Stoke miss the suspended D Whitehead. I would pick the home win.

Roma - Torino 1.63 - 5.70

De Rossi, Burdisso and Tachtsidis will all be suspended for the home side, De Rossi is doing nothing very good for his Roma these days. I would off load him and get some fantastic money in the process.
Do not underestimate Torino in their away fixtures. They remain unbeaten with 1-5-0 this far. Why, oh why should Roma be 1.63 favourites in this game? Important Torino defender Ogbonna is expected back for this game. I usually say there will be four or five goals whenever Roma are involved, but maybe not on Sunday. Only three- four this time.

Betting trends

Bordeaux - Marseille 2.40 - 3.51

Backing Bordeaux. They are 4-2-0 in their home games and they have in fact only lost one league game this season. Last week they went to Lorient and returned home with a 4-0 win in their bag.
Marseille played two home games last week vs. Borussia M. and Nice and both the matches ended in 2-2 draws, with Marseille conceding late equalisers in both games. Marseille have offensive worries ahead of this top game as their three central forwards Gignac, L Remy and J Ayew are all out of this fixture. Quite possible that they will play without a forward starting with their midfielder A Ayew in a frontal position, 19 year old Omrani is another option.
Marseille have not won this fixture for some 35 years and it will tough for them also this season. Bordeaux to win.

Fulham - Sunderland 1.79 - 5.20

It was odd watching Fulham against Arsenal thinking for myself that Fulham were playing the better, the more entertaining football. D Duff was kept on the bench for most of the game and K Richardson suffered an injury and he will be missing for a while. C Baird will be suspended this weekend.
Strong first half display from Sunderland away to Everton and for once their hard work was rewarded with a goal. It was not enough to win the match, with Everton hitting back late on in the game, but one has to say that Sunderland offered an improved performance. Sessegnon missed a great chance, but so far it does not seem to work for the Frenchman. No C Gardner for Sunderland and they risk being without L Cattermole and P Bardsley again. Front man S Fletcher is a doubt. I have nothing negative to say about Fulham. I just think the home win is hugely underpriced. Quite unbackable.

West Ham - Stoke 2.10 - 4.12

A bit weakened defensively West Ham had no major problems preventing the Newcastle strikers from scoring against them. Will they be as effective stopping P Crouch? Well Crouch and his Stoke have been surprisingly quiet this season and although they defeated QPR 1-0 they were far from convincing. Coach Pulis had changed his formation, but according to unanimous reports QPR were the better side at the Britannia Stadium. Pulis will easily accept that verdict, as Stoke got their all important three points.
West Ham, mostly convincing this season, up against a Stoke side less impressive than last season and one has to say that the home win alternative looks much more attractive.
West Ham have quite a few injury concerns, as M Jarvis, Benayoun and G McCartney all had to leave the match with injuries last week. M Maiga, O’Neil and G Demel did just fine replacing the trio. It looks worst for McCartney at this moment. J Collins will probably be back in the home defence. Stoke miss the suspended D Whitehead. I would pick the home win.

Bologna - Palermo 2.30 - 3.51

Seems like Bologna are almost always in with a chance in their games, but they go on losing them by the odd goal. They are very much in the drop zone and they absolutely have to defeat Palermo, usually very poor travellers. Will they do it? Well, Palermo are feeling much better at the moment after their incredibly important win against Sampdoria. A new Palermo star was born and his name is Dybala. Miccoli will probably have to wait till next week for his come back.
Diamanti, Gabbiadini and Gilardino will play from the start in the Bologna front line in this must win game. I like to think that Bologna will edge this one.

Catania - Chievo 1.95 - 4.78

Backing the Sicilians. Chievo are 0-0-5 away from home and as you know by now I almost always back Catania down in Sicily.
Bergessio will most likely be back for Catania, but he will probably start on the bench. Doukara could start again. Almiron will be fit to play.
Chievo miss the suspended L Rigoni and the injured duo Papp and Frey. Cesar will be OK. Catania to win.

Fiorentina - Atalanta 1.62 - 7.00

Fantastic season for Fiorentina and by now it is obvious that “ the little Aeroplane”, Montella is a very talented coach. First Catania last season and now his work with Fiorentina. Jovetic will probably be missing also this weekend and Toni will be joined by Ljajic or El Hamdaoui upfront.
Parra and Peluso will be suspended for Atalanta, a team playing their season best football. Brivio will com in for Peluso. So Fiorentina (5-1-0) should probably win this match, but the odds on the home win are too short, at least in my opinion.

Inter - Cagliari 1.60 - 6.96

I underestimated the Inter defensive shortcomings away to Atalanta. Missing both Samuel and Ranocchia proved crucial, as for example Silvestre endured a terrible evening. Same again, or their coach will change his formation, but still no Samuel or Ranocchia. Now also Guarin will miss this match and he has been in great form lately.
The Cagliari – Catania fixture was a drab affair and I have nothing really positive to say about the Cagliari display in that game. Squad wise Cagliari look very much OK, with only their defender Ariaudo once again a major doubt. Home win for Inter, I guess.

Roma - Torino 1.63 - 5.70

De Rossi, Burdisso and Tachtsidis will all be suspended for the home side, De Rossi is doing nothing very good for his Roma these days. I would off load him and get some fantastic money in the process.
Do not underestimate Torino in their away fixtures. They remain unbeaten with 1-5-0 this far. Why, oh why should Roma be 1.63 favourites in this game? Important Torino defender Ogbonna is expected back for this game. I usually say there will be four or five goals whenever Roma are involved, but maybe not on Sunday. Only three- four this time.

Sampdoria - Genoa 2.49 - 3.34

The big derby of the weekend, but unfortunately both clubs are more or less in dire straits at the moment, or worse than that, if it is possible. The Sampdoria coach must be hanging on the ropes after an endless winless run and Delneri, the new Genoa coach, has been defeated in all his four games for Genoa.
Good news for Genoa as both their key players Borriello and Rossi will be back for this game and at least Borriello will play from the start. Still no Maxi Lopez for Sampdoria, no Eder either, but Poli and Krsticic will be available again. I prefer the away win alternative.

Siena - Pescara 1.80 - 5.50

I cannot do much to change the odds, but surely this match should end in a home win for Siena. Both Rosina and Rodriguez will be back in contention for this game. They were both missing at the weekend when Siena were happy drawing 0-0 at Parma. Paci will definitely be missing.
Pescara conceded six goals in their home fixture against Juventus and how do you recover from this, their most recent set back? Well facts remain and Pescara are on the right side of the relegation zone, while Siena are very much down there (They have been deducted six points).
Pescara probably have to manage without their leading scorer in Serie A, Weiss, joining Terlizzi, Blasi and Colucci on the sidelines. Vukusic or Jonathas will play alongside Abbruscato in their front line. Very likely home win.

Udinese - Parma 2.21 - 3.75

Udinese are not winning too many games this season, with 3-6-3 after twelve league games. Parma have won a third of their twelve matches and the draw in this match is always very likely. Add Lazzari to the Udinese injury list and their defender Danilo will be suspended for this game.
No Biabiany for Parma due to a suspension, but Valdes will be available. One of Pabon, Sansone or Belfodil will come in for Biabiany upfront together with Amauri. 1X game.

Premier League Prediction 6/11/12

W B A - Southampton 1.75 - 5.06

I talk about luck every now and then, but do not take it too literally. WBA deserved more from their visit to St James last week and they probably also deserved something from their home game against Man City the week before. So it has not been going the WBA way lately, although they have played some decent football. This they have done from day one this season.
Southampton as expected fielded reserves against Leeds in the cup and we will see a well rested and well prepared Saints squad for this match. Home win, I guess.

Soccer prediction 27/10/2012

Lille - Valenciennes 1.65 - 7.00

My pick will be the outsider. Lille are the better side? Of course they are, when they are in form, that is. At the moment Valenciennes look the stronger side and they are four points ahead of Lille in the league table.
The away side will also this week miss the injured duo Mater and Nery. Time for Pujol to play some part for Valenciennes. The striker has been injured this season. Another striker, Le Tallec should be OK to play.
Lille played against Bayern Munich earlier this week and they suffered their third straight Champions League defeat. So far it is not working for Lille this season, pure lucky drawing at Bordeaux last week. Basa, Mavuba and Gueye are major injury doubts. Form beats class, hopefully.

Arsenal - Q P R 1.40 - 9.50

A Ferdinand and Onuoha came on as late substitutes for QPR last week and defensively QPR are beginning to look sound again. What they need right now is a win, any kind of win, to kick start their stumbling season. If I compare the QPR squad to the likes of Wigan, Reading, Southampton, Norwich and so on, no way they ought to be behind these sides in the league table. QPR need a lucky break, but will it happen tomorrow?
Quite amazing how the Arsenal season so quickly turned sour. I have seen them playing two games in four days, against Norwich and Schalke, and they have not really produced a single scoring chance. Half chances, yes, but no open ones. Sagna could be back for this match, maybe also Oxlade-Chamberlain, J Wilshere on the bench, but it is too early for Walcott and Diaby. As Arsenal so clearly have lost all their confidence I can see QPR causing an upset in this London derby. Something on the away win.

Aston Villa - Norwich 1.95 - 4.30

Trying to write something about this fixture the name of Paul Lambert constantly pops up in my mind. It was Lambert who brought Norwich to the Premiership after some barren years and it was Lambert who coached Norwich last season. Their come back season was a success, but it did not stop Lambert from leaving Norwich for Aston Villa. Lambert’s Villa have struggled so far, one win and only six goals scored.
Not that Norwich have done any better, but their league win arrived last week and it was their best performance of the season, 1-0 against Arsenal. Grant Holt has woken up from his early season slumber and there is always hope when Holt is on fire. R Snodgrass could be back for the home side.
N Baker, the Villa centre half is struggling with an injury and he will be assessed tonight. Lowton is ready to fill in for Baker. C Clark is also an injury doubt. Lambert knows everything there is to know about Holt and his Norwich colleagues and at the end of day I expect Villa to win this fixture, 1-0 or 2-0 home win.

Chelsea - Manchester Utd 2.47 - 3.25

It was tough for Chelsea in Ukraine. The speedy Shaktar players came in wave after wave and Chelsea really should have lost with more than the one goal (1-2). J Terry and F Lampard will miss this game, but that is OK. Chelsea will be able to field the same starting eleven that impressed hugely against Tottenham a week ago. Lampard is no good in a game like this one.
R Ferdinand and Evra will most likely return to the United defence. Kagawa will miss the match, but he can be replaced, as both Valencia and A Young are available again. So a better looking United defence for this match than against Braga, but my call in this fixture will be the home win.

Everton - Liverpool 2.76 - 2.76

In my world I would have Everton as 2.30 favourites in the derby. OK, it is not perfect for Everton to be missing both Fellaini and Pienaar, but they play better, more effective football than Liverpool, at least this far. Yes, they have six more points than Liverpool. Reports are now saying there is a chance that Fellaini will recover for this match and the same goes for D Gibson.
If you put the Liverpool 5-2 win against Norwich aside you have to say that they are close to harmless. Their fixture list has not exactly been the toughest one, but all they mustered in their two recent home games vs. Stoke and Reading was the one goal.
Liverpool fielded a surprisingly strong squad against Anzhi last night only changing their line up on three positions. Advantage Everton on Sunday? Derby game, anything may happen red cards and the rest, but my call will be the home win.

Manchester City - Swansea 1.25 - 15.00

I guess the City coach Mancini is thinking to himself: thank God for the Premiership. He knows how to play City in this league, but obviously he has not the necessary know how for the European circuit. This I can state now after a string of lacklustre City displays in Europe.
The question must be asked. Will the owners accept the Mancini shortcomings? J Milner will be suspended for this game and it is probably too early for D Silva.
Swansea will play their customary passing game and it may take a while for City to get the upper hand in this match. There is talk about mutiny in the Man City dressing room and I would never touch this 1.25 on the home win.

Newcastle - W B A 2.01 - 4.00

Decent odds on the home win, or is it just my old head talking? If nothing else it was easy to see that Newcastle were better than Sunderland in the northern derby and no way that they would have dropped any points if Tiote has stayed on the pitch. Newcastle look strong and their defensive worries are over for the moment. No Tiote on Sunday.
Maybe the WBA coach has some regrets after their loss against Man City. He should have played with Lukaku earlier in the game and the loss would probably had been avoided. I have nothing negative to say about this WBA side. It is just that I think that Newcastle are a better footballing side. Home winner.

Reading - Fulham 2.93 - 2.60

Time for the first Reading three pointer? Why not! You can always reason with Fulham on their travels and rest assured that the Reading players will be extremely fired up for this game. In their last home fixture they dominated against Newcastle, but had to settle for a 2-2 draw. Next came a 2-2 draw at Swansea followed up by their 0-1 loss against Liverpool at Anfield. There is every reason to believe that Reading will offer a strong home display tomorrow. Noel Hunt will be ready again for the home side.
Duff will be back in contention for Fulham, maybe also B Ruiz. Fulham are unbeaten in their last four games, including two away fixtures, at Wigan (2-1) and Southampton (2-2).
They score on a regular basis these days and I will absolutely include the over alternative in this fixture. Home win and over game will be my two calls.

Southampton - Tottenham 4.35 - 1.90

Not too much to say about Southampton. If they do not strengthen their defensive line they will go on losing football games, it is as simple as that. Then they need R Lambert playing from the start. He is their main danger man, but he was kept on the bench during the first hour of their game against West Ham.
Finding out that Tottenham were missing both G Bale and Dembele gave at least this writer only one option, Chelsea had to be backed. Spurs without Bale are not the same, but in this game against Chelsea their defence, and especially Gallas was a big disappointment. G Bale will be back for this match and quite possible that both Adebayor and Dembele will also return. Away win and over game.

Stoke - Sunderland 2.10 - 4.37

Not the kind of football game that I would choose to watch. An old fashioned game of English football at the Britannia Stadium and the winners will be the side that are most efficient at using the different dead ball situations.
Sounds like Stoke will grab the three points. G Whelan will be back in contention for Stoke.
Stoke are unbeaten at their stadium, while Sunderland have drawn three of their four away fixtures. I was not impressed by the Sunderland display in the derby. Where was the creativity? Sunderland play like that, get the ball into the penalty area as soon as possible and hope for the best, a bit like Stoke actually. L Cattermole will play/fight again for Sunderland. I prefer the home win.

Wigan - West Ham 2.37 - 3.33

Quoting a great Bob Dylan song: “It is not dark yet, but it is getting there.” I am thinking about Wigan and the fact they are winless in their last five games. In fact their only win was early season away to Southampton.
They were certainly not miles away from getting something from their visit to Swansea, but they ended up losing the game 1-2. They will be unchanged for this match, while defender O’Brien will be back bolstering the West Ham defence.
Different world altogether for West Ham with 4-2-2 after eight rounds of league football. Maybe Wigan can draw some comfort from the fact that West Ham so far have produced less effective football on their travels, but still, they won their last away game, if you can call a fixture at the Loftus Road an away game for West Ham. A draw is all that Wigan will manage tomorrow.

Barnsley – Nottingham Forrest 2.92 - 2.54

Away win will be my choice. Short trip for Nottingham. Should be like a derby, but I would not know. Nottingham are one of the better sides in this division, but they have drawn too many games this far. In midweek they visited Blackpool and managed to draw the match 2-2. It was a good result, at least in my opinion.
Nottingham have three very useful strikers, B Sharp, S Cox and D Blackstock and it was Blackstock who scored their equaliser against Blackpool coming on as a late substitute. Defender Ayala is considered a major doubt for this match and Guedioura will complete his suspension this weekend.
Barnsley are forced to play without their leading striker C Davies (7 goals). His partner C Dagnall was replaced after 17 minutes against Crystal Palace, but why, I do not know. Suffice to say that Barnsley will be weakened offensively for this match. Backing Nottingham.

Espanyol - Malaga 3.00 - 2.58

I will back Espanyol also this week. Their 3-2 win against Vallecano last week, first win of the season, was far from convincing. Still Espanyol had their all important win and I expect a better, more relaxed Espanyol performance tomorrow.
Their defender Colotto will be suspended for this match and Javi Lopez, midfielder, will not be fit to play. Stuani came on for Lopez last week scoring the winning goal for Espanyol. We will absolutely see more of Sergio Garcia, but Albin and Mattioni remain on the sidelines.
Malaga won again in Europe, this time against Milan. Their win was totally in order. Joaquin missed a penalty late in the first half. There is no way that Malaga will be at their best in this match. I have seen it so many times before, how new sides playing in the Champions League will suffer in the league. It has not happened yet for Malaga, but surely their rather small squad will be stretched at the moment. Espanyol to win.

Bologna - Inter 3.90 - 2.19

It was close but Bologna should not have too many complaints about their 0-1 loss away to Cagliari. They will probably be unchanged for this match with both Aquafresca and Gimenez sidelined. Diamanti will hopefully, for Bologna, make it possible for Gilardino to find the Inter goal. Inter go on missing Sneijder.
Four wins on the bounce for Inter, while Bologna are going through a very lean period. They had this great win at home to Catania, but before and after they have achieved practically nothing. Likely away win.

Catania -. Juventus 5.40 - 1.74

Potential banana skin number two for Juventus this week. Number one was in Denmark against Nordsjälland (1-1). Juventus dominated against the Danes, but they lacked the necessary sharpness, or they were not creative enough?
Catania are certainly no pushovers down in Sicily. They are 3-1-0 this far at their own place and they fear no team there.
Lichtsteiner, Asamoah and Vucinic will most likely start for Juventus this time. Another draw for Juventus!

Fiorentina - Lazio 2.25 - 3.62

Aquilani and Llama are at last back in training for Fiorentina, but for this match they have to manage without the suspended Pizarro and Roncaglia. Luca Toni will play alongside Jovetic in their front line and Cuadrado and Olivera will play in their midfield together with M Fernandez, Borja Valero and Pasquale. Marchetti, the Lazio first choice keeper, will miss this game.
Fiorentina are 3-1-0 in their home games and they have only conceded one goal in their home fixtures. At the same time Lazio have been surprisingly strong in their away fixtures (3-0-1 so far). A draw and every one will be reasonably happy.

Milan - Genoa 1.57 - 8.00

Must be a great side Milan, as low priced as 1.57 against Genoa. The bookies seem to know what I know. Genoa have to manage without Borriello, Jorquera and Canini, all in action last week. Rossi, Ferronetti and Vargas will be absent again.
New Genoa coach, Delneri, and this will be his first game in charge. He will probably use a 4-4-4-1-1 formation with Bertolacci supporting Immobile upfront.
Abbiati and Boateng could be back for Milan. Milan should win this match, but the odds are unacceptable.

Napoli - Chievo 1.42 - 9.49

For long periods Napoli were absolutely as strong as Juventus last week, but the many offensive options available for Juventus decided the match in favour of the league leaders.
Pelissier was not fit to play for Chievo last week, but for this match he will be back along with Cruzado. Andreolli will start in their defence with both Cesar and Sardo out injured.
Cavani, Pandev, Hamsik and Maggio, among others, did not play, or only played a few minutes when Napoli went down to Dnipro in Europe last night. Home win, I guess.

Pescara - Atalanta 3.01 - 2.62

It is difficult for me. I have given up on Pescara and I never trust them to be on the winning side. I was not surprised that ten man Udinese proved too strong for Pescara last week. No Blasi for Pescara in this match, but Colucci should return. Quintero and Crescenzi risk missing this match.
Crucial win for an injury plagued Atalanta side against Siena. Carmona will be suspended for this game. He was red carded sitting on the bench. As I just said, I never seem to trust Pescara, but I must admit, this match looks winnable for the newcomers. Home win?

Roma - Udinese 1.62 - 6.11

Fantastic offensive football by Roma against Genoa. They just attacked with their entire team down 0-2 and it was a joy to watch their optimistic football. There were never any doubts, just keep on attacking. Totti played a big part in their 4-2 win. Same again? Well Destro has recovered from his injury, but both Totti and Balzaretti are major injury doubts.
Udinese miss Danilo, Basta, Pasquale, Pinzi and Muriel. Too short odds on the home win.

Sampdoria - Cagliari 2.25 - 3.80

Gastaldello, Sampdoria defender, will be back for this match, but his defensive colleague A Costa will serve his suspension this week and their keeper Romero as well. Pozzi and Krsticic will not be available, but hopefully Obiang and/or Poli will return.
Cagliari will once again miss Cossu and Pinilla. A Ekdal was their best player against Bologna and it has been a pleasant surprise to see his rapid improvement lately. 1X game.

Siena - Palermo 2.32 - 3.57

Rodriguez, the midfielder, is new on the Siena injury list, but Ze Eduardo will be available again. Rosina and Campagnolo are injured, but there is still hope that Rosina will recover for this fixture.
Miccoli and Brienza should return for Palermo. In other words we will see Miccoli from the start in this game. Their point reduction has made this fixture more or less a must win game for Siena. Palermo have scored one goal in their four away games and sure enough, you can almost always oppose Palermo in their away fixtures. Siena to win.

Torino - Parma 2.27 - 3.86

Hopefully for Torino, their best asset, the Italian international defender Ogbonna, will be back for this match. He could not play last week at Parma. Lucarelli and Benalouane will be available again for Parma, but Mirante and Galloppa are out of this fixture. Can a game be more difficult to predict than this one? The draw.