ITALIAN football expert, Marco Di Cosmo (@scioltz) casts his eye over the best bets from Saturday's Serie A card.
Roma v Inter | Saturday 4th December 2021, 17:00 | BT Sport
Two big matches in Serie A today, with Roma vs Inter a superb before the main plate on late evening.
I see the Nerazzurri as clear favorites here, and the Olimpico factor is not changing my mind at all.
We often praised Inter's new style of play, and their offensive performances have just been magnificent. They create goal opportunities so easily, and their offensive flow is probably unmatched in Serie A today (only Atalanta might be in the discussion).
They have scored at least two goals in all but 2 of their Serie A matches (two 1-1 draws against Milan and Juventus), making this stat a stunning 13 out of 15.
I am extremely confident they will keep this run again if you consider Roma will miss several key players. Their fullbacks are not available for the game, so Jose Mourinho will need to adapt someone to fit the role. Also, their midfield is missing key players such as Lorenzo Pellegrini, and the fact that also Tammy Abraham will be missing upfront makes me think the away win is also a banker here.
Napoli v Atalanta | Saturday 4th December 2021, 19:45 | BT Sport
But this is the match I am expecting to see most. Napoli are on top of the table since day 1 but they slowed down a lot in recent times; consider they have won 4-0 against Lazio last Sunday, but also drew to Verona and Sassuolo, and got beaten by Inter at San Siro a couple of weeks ago.
On the other hand, Atalanta are absolutely flying and, as expected, they are back to the usual trends we have witnessed these past years. Their scoring form does not need a further introduction; 12 goals in their last 4 games, including a narrow 1-0 win against Juventus who just surrended using a super-defensive-minded approach.
This won't be the case for Napoli, who is not built on a defensive mindset as the bianconeri, and also because they will be missing two key defenders as Kalidou Koulibaly and Kostanin Manolas. This is kind of a nightmare when you have to face Atalanta in hot scoring form, and if you think also midfield stopper André-Frank Zambo Anguissa is ruled out, it makes the headache even stronger for them.
Bologna v Fiorentina | Sunday 5th December 2021, 11:30 | BT Sport
Bologna are surprising everyone in Serie A so far, but I think the odds are too generous for Fiorentina here.
I like the Viola a lot this season, and the explosion of Dusan Vlahovic is just the icing on the cake for a very interesting team full of quality players. They are the only team in Serie A yet to draw a match, and I am confident they can get at least one point from their Sunday trip.
That is why I am backing them being on the safe side, using the
asian handicap line.
Best Bets
Roma vs Inter – Inter to win
Roma vs Inter – Inter to score Over 1.5 Goals
Napoli vs Atalanta – Atalanta Draw No Bet
Napoli vs Atalanta – Atalanta to score Over 1.5 Goals
Bologna vs Fiorentina – Fiorentina +0.25 Asian Handicap
1 Comment
Excellent read on these games