OUR man in Italy, Marco Di Cosmo (@scioltz) looks to continue his hot streak in Serie A with three selections on Saturday.
Lazio v Chievo | Saturday 17:00
Lazio will host Chievo after a disappointing performance against Juventus as they were not able to register a single shot on-target. The task will be obviously easier on Saturday eveningn.
The battle for relegation is something really awkward this year, as the three teams that are down in the table seem already to have no chance, despite being only at the half of the season.
Chievo have a 15-point margin from Crotone, and they are 99% safe from any relegation worries, something remarkable to achieve in January and also a further lack of motivation from a team that should have no other ambition in the league.
Lazio, on the other hand, have a tremendous home record, with eight wins, two losses and only one draw. The Biancocelesti are merciless against smaller sides with their only two losses coming against Roma and Juve.
The Romans have won eight out of their nine remaining games when facing smaller teams. So I do not think Chievo will put up many resistances here, as their trend against bigger teams is really awful when playing away – the Flying Donkeys have lost all of their games against the league’s big boys.
The negative point for Lazio is that they will miss key players in Keita Balde and Ciro Immobile. For this reason their attack could somehow be stagnant and that made me consider backing Under 2.5 goals.
Instead, I think a more safer approach will be backing Lazio’s ability to find the net in someway, while also reducing the total goals in the game to have a little boost in our odds. So Lazio to win and Under 4.5 Goals at 7/10 (Betfair).
Inter Milan v Pescara | Saturday 19:45 | BT Sport
Pescara are one of the three teams, alongside with Palermo and Crotone, who already have almost zero chances to be safe from relegation.
The Dolphins have been one of the most disappointing sides of the season, especially considering their sparkling start in the opening match against Napoli where they were leading by two goals after an hour. That was only an illusion though, as their season swerved to a negative note still impossible to recover from.
Their general record is something ridiculous: this team has yet to win a single Serie A match after 21 games! At home, their best record consists of four draws and six losses, while away they managed to settle for a draw on only two occasions.
Also, in 62% of these Pescara games they’ve lost by two or more goals. I think the same will easily happen on Saturday night, especially if we consider the long list of unavailable players they have to face Inter.
The Nerazzurri are on the best period of their season, coming from a number of consecutive victories that pushed them ahead of city-rivals AC Milan and also aiming for a place in the Europa League, at least.
Also, I like to back Mauro Icardi to score here. He loves a goal against these sorts of defences and he will have no trouble finding the net. The Wincast is 8/11 (SkyBet).
Best Bets
Lazio v Chievo – Lazio to win and Under 4.5 Goals (7/10 Betfair)
Inter Milan v Pescara – Inter Milan -1.5 Asian Handicap (11/14 188BET)
Inter Milan v Pescara – Mauro Icardi to score and Inter Milan to win (8/11 SkyBet)
