OUR man in Italy, Marco Di Cosmo (@scioltz) returns to look at Wednesday's action from Serie A.
Verona vs Inter | Wednesday 23rd December 2020, 17:30 | Premier Sports
Inter just cannot fail this. With Juventus losing at home to Fiorentina – and the decision of the Italian Football Association overturning their 3-0 victory against Napoli – the Nerazzurri have the chance to go eight points ahead of the Bianconeri.
This would be enough motivation to justify an away win. Inter are also in a hot form, with 6 consecutive league wins and not particular concerns in the team.
Still, I see the home side scoring as well so I am happy to back Inter to win and more than 2 goals scored in the game.
Napoli vs Torino | Wednesday 23rd December 2020, 19:45 | Premier Sports
I'm not expecting a clear win for Napoli here, as they have many absentees with Hirving Lozano, Dries Mertens and Kalidou Koulibaly out, among others.
Still, they should prevail a poor Torino side, sitting at the bottom of the table with just 7 points in 13 games. There are usually goals in their matches but I don’t see a very creative Napoli with many of their key attackers out.
Roma vs Cagliari | Wednesday 23rd December 2020, 19:45 | LiveScore
Roma have shown a good trend against medium-low quality teams this season. Their league record says W7-D3-L3. Among the 3 losses, 2 were against Atalanta and Napoli (top-7 clubs) and one against Verona (judge decision). Also, their 3 draws came against Sassuolo, Milan and Juve (all top-7 clubs).
Against the rest of the teams, they have a 100% record of 7 wins with 22 goals scored and 5 conceded.
I see no reason why not backing them to win with more than two goals in the game.
Milan vs Lazio | Wednesday 23rd December 2020, 19:45 | Premier Sports
Lots of absentees for both teams in this match. Milan will play without Zlatan Ibrahimovic, two central defenders, and their key defensive midfielders Frank Kessie and Ismael Bennacer. For this reason, they should be very weak at the centre and Lazio should be able to score at least once, with the likes of Ciro Immobile and friends.
But Milan have shown some resilience so far, even in very difficult situations. They have scored at least 2 goals for 15 consecutive matches and with key Lazio defender Francesco Acerbi missing at the back I see goals coming for both.
Sampdoria vs Sassuolo | Wednesday 23rd December 2020, 19:45 | LiveScore
Lastly, I am simply finishing with Sassuolo on the scoresheet again, after some dodgy performances. Their recent games were not so exciting as at the beginning of the season, and I am confident their coach will provide a boost to set the tone at the previous standards.
They will face a very ‘happy’ defence in Sampdoria, who concede an average of almost 2 goals per game and have no particular pressure.
Best Bets
Verona vs Inter – Inter to win and Over 2.5 Goals (5/4 Betfred)
Napoli vs Torino – Napoli to win and Over 2.5 Goals (1/1 SBK)
Roma vs Cagliari – Roma to win and Over 2.5 Goals (8/11 SBK)
Milan vs Lazio – Over 2.5 Goals (4.5 Matchbook)
Sampdoria vs Sassuolo – Over 2.5 Goals (3/4 Matchbook)
