OUR man in Italy, Marco Di Cosmo (@scioltz) smashed it last season with a +167 unit profit. Here he pens his first Serie A column of the season.
Benevento v Bologna | Saturday 26th August, 17:00
To kick start the Serie A campaign, we have an interesting match-up in the form of Benevento v Bologna. It might not be the most attractive fixture of the day but I’ve tried to find angles from the relegation zone that I see as potential big value.
As I said in my early season preview, Benevento is one of the most likely candidates to be relegated this year. I do respect their home solidity, where they’ve had the third best Serie B record last season, however, I still do not think this will keep them from meeting Serie B drop again.
Bologna is much more of a mature team, and they have the possibility to get away with a point in this showdown. Indeed, rather than choosing some tricky options for a winner, I am looking at the Both Teams To Score (5/6 Stan James) market to do my damage.
Bologna have proved to have a leaky defense last season, and Benevento seem well equipped to put them under heavy pressure and they will not finish with a clean sheet.
Genoa v Juventus | Saturday 26th August, 17:00 | BT Sport Xtra
Six-time champions of the division, Juventus are trying to change their style as they progress into the new season. The addition of Douglas Costa should prove a lot of quality at the right flank, where last season they were not well covered with Mario Mandzukic trying to perform duties both as a right and left winger.
This team seems to be more focused on the offensive end, and the addition of Federico Bernardeschi give them a wide range of opportunity which is very hard to match in the domestic competition.
Also, the loss of Leonardo Bonucci, plus Andrea Barzagli alongside Giorgio Chiellini aging presents some defensive questions that still to be solved. Allegri seems to give more importance to his offensive performances, and that is why I am favouring backing Over 2.5 Goals (17/20 Bet365) in a match that Juventus should win in relatively comfortable style.
Roma v Inter Milan | Saturday 26th August, 19:45 | BT Sport
This classic match-up features two teams that had an intense rivalry back in the day. This season, things seem to be more interesting with former Roma’s coach Luciano Spalletti now at the helm at Inter Milan, trying to rescue the Neroazzurri from their awful campaign last season.
His mentality has always been to attack, and nothing should change here. He also has the immense quality of Mauro Icardi and Ivan Perisic to call upon, among many others.
On the other hand, Roma has not found the right equilibrium after their summer transfer dealings. Their new coach Eusebio DI Francesco has showcased very entertaining football at Sassuolo, but usually, it requires time to get the team where they need to be. So, I do think both teams still have a lot work to do and they could both be exploited in their weaknesses reciprocally.
Backing Both Teams to Score and Over 2.5 Goals (5/6 SkyBet) in the match should be the right option to play.
Best Bets
Benevento v Bologna – Both Teams to Score (5/6 Stan James)
Genoa v Juventus – Over 2.5 g0als (17/20 Bet365)
Roma v Inter Milan – Both Teams to Score and Over 2.5 goals (5/6 Sky Bet)
