ROME resident Marco Di Cosmo (@Scioltz) bagged three winners from four last weekend. Here he runs the rule over Sunday's Serie A.
Bologna v Empoli | Sunday 14:00
It’s a relegation battle as Bologna and Empoli, who are separated by only six points, go head-to-head with the latter trying to survive from Crotone’s resurgence.
Empoli have been so bad compared to the last years. This was much predictable, as we said, because of the loss of key players and excellent coaches in Marco Giampaolo and Maurizio Sarri in the past two seasons.
Bologna (5/4 BetVictor) have a solid record home against small teams: it is true they’ve lost three times but also they had convincing wins against sides of similar size, e.g. Palermo, Samp, Cagliari and Crotone.
The same is easy to happen against Empoli which, excluding a surprising 4-0 win against Pescara, have only collected two points in all their travels. Home win.
Palermo v Chievo | Sunday 14:00
Will Palermo finally be able to win a home match at La Favorita?
The Sicilians are having their worst season in ages, and despite normally boasting a fortress record at home, they’re proving extremely inefficient as they’ve lost every single game there this season, something incredible to believe.
I think this is now the moment to stop this trend. Palermo have changed two coaches already and I’m seeing some little improvement as they’ve lost a narrow match against Lazio, and they surrendered to Fiorentina in stoppage-time.
Backing Palermo in the Draw No Bet (103/100 Marathon) market is the route against Chievo, who do not travel as well as they perform at home.
Torino v Juventus | Sunday 14:00 | BT Sport 2
Torino against Juve should be a cracker with the Granata coming extremely motivated to this derby. I admire Sinisa Mihajlović’s team so much and it is one I like to back every week.
More than all, I like to back goals when Torino are involved: this is the third-best scoring team in Serie A, having only one goal less than Juventus. Plus, at home they are something like a machine if you imagine that they have registered 19 goals in seven games, having the fourth-best record in the whole league.
Juventus are the best defence in Italy, of course, but they do concede more when traveling. Their record say three losses in seven away matches, with their goal being violated against Genoa and Chievo.
Torino is much more dangerous than these two sides, and having in mind some injury concerns that affects Juventus, back Both Teams To Score at 10/11 (William Hill).
Inter Milan v Genoa | Sunday 19:45 | BT Sport
Inter are probably the most unpredictable side in Serie A, and that is not something new for the Nerazzurri.
When things seemed to go better with Stefano Pioli in charge, after a draw in the derby and a win against Fiorentina, this team lost heavily against Napoli showing little resistance.
Looking at their stats trends might be also useless as they’ve changed identity so many times in three months. Their constant trend is goals though, they do score and concede so easily, showing at the same time all their weaknesses and best capabilities.
Genoa are a dangerous side to exploit other teams deficiencies and I’m confident they will be able to score at San Siro, that is why backing Over 2.5 Goals at 73/100 (Marathon).
Best Bets
Bologna v Empoli – Bologna to win (5/4 BetVictor)
Palermo v Chievo – Palermo draw no bet (103/100 Marathon)
Torino v Juventus – Both Teams To Score (10/11 William Hill)
Inter Milan v Genoa – Over 2.5 Goals (73/100 Marathon)
