THERE’S nine games from Serie A to enjoy on Tuesday and our man in Rome Marco Di Cosmo (@scioltz) has two bets lined up.
Udinese v Roma | Tuesday 11.30 | BT Sport 1
Udinese have undergone a bit of a transformation this season under new coach Andrea Stramaccioni. The new boss has adopted a more defensive approach than the former coach Alberto Guidolin but kept their impressive home record intact with three consecutive victories to start the season.
However, the team hasn't enough talent to repeat the good seasons of recent years, in my opinion. Toto Di Natale is getting older (but still scoring) and with Luis Muriel often sidelined, he has no technical partners to share the attacking threat.
And all the limits of Udinese have come to fruition in recent matches, with the Little Zebras taking just one point from their last nine available on home soil.
On the other side, Roma will be without Seydou Keita and Gervinho but Juan Iturbe and Kevin Strootman’s return will be a real boost for the visitors and having no significant injuries will help them to get the better of Udinese.
Roma have an amazing talent pool in midfield. Udinese will play on the counter and defend deep but I’m confident Roma will break the deadlock within the 90 minutes and prove too strong. The away win is 10/11 with William Hill.
Empoli v Hellas Verona | Tuesday 14.00
If I have to pick my favourite team in Italy based on the quality of football, I would no doubt pick Empoli. This team is amazing; having the lowest budget in the league, they would be immediately considered for relegation.
But even if the quality of players don’t compare with some, their style of play is incredibly entertaining and enjoyable to watch.
Even the legend Arrigo Sacchi praised Empoli boss Maurizio Sarri as one of the most innovative coaches in Italian football. He plays the best offensive pressing in Serie A and that allows the Blues to play dynamic football, similar to the Jurgen Klopp style.
For this match I would consider Over 2.5 Goals as both teams like to play an open style, Empoli usually tend to score and suffer a lot with teams who like to attack.
But Verona will have two significant absences though, as Rafael Marquez and the main striker Luca Toni will be ruled out for the match. Considering Empoli's mentality and Verona's defensive problem, I will side with Empoli to score Over 1.5 Goals at evens with Coral.
Best Bets
Udinese v Roma – Roma to win (10/11 William Hill)
Empoli v Hellas Verona – Empoli to score Over 1.5 Goals (1/1 Coral)
