Round 24 – Udinese cursed
By David, BettingExpert.com | Edited
Guidolin may not be believing his eyes. Top players are falling like flies at Udinese and after proving their resilience by hanging on in the last games they were involved in the results are not coming now. It looks like tough days ahead for them. Lazio may take advantage although Reja has had his own personnel troubles to contend with. Lecce, Siena and Novara have delicate matches this weekend in view of relegation matters.
Lecce – Siena
Only in the second half did Lecce show they could get something from their trip to Atalanta. Once again a solid home team makes them expose weaknesses at the back. They took the right measures though and with Carrozzieri returning to lead the defence after a long absence they should gain in solidity.
Sannino’s Siena keeps marching on doing the bare minimum to collect the points and survive in a league where their quality would usually not allow them to survive. It has been a miraculous job so far. They get their points from home games, just like the last one when they hosted Roma. However, a game against a direct rival for relegation may get them to risk a little more than usual and go for points. The five points acting as gap between them and Lecce may warrant a little more caution though.
Verdict: 1
Not attacking Lecce would be a mistake. They will pour forward as this is a golden chance for them to pull back Siena into relegation matters and thus help themselves up in the process.
Genoa – Chievo
The midweek match against Atalanta may well have been the first time the Grifoni displayed the right attitude on the road under the leadership of Marino. They had been battling this away complex and technically they are not yet out of that tunnel. In the last five away games they have five away defeats. But there were encouraging signs. Kaladze is back in the heart of defence. Moretti or Mesto may recover and help boost the backline. Gilardino is still ruled out but without him they were still dangerous in a difficult pitch as that of Atalanta on Wednesday.
Chievo will be better rested but their away form against top sides has been worrying this season. Cesar and Cruzado may be the new faces this Sunday. Sammarco remains sidelined.
Verdict: 1
In the past Chievo have had good results at the Marassi but at this current stage I doubt how well they can cope with this match.
Novara – Atalanta
Having been hit hard by the suspensions this week Novara may find it harder to repeat themselves this weekend after the unexpected away win at the San Siro against Inter. That was the second win in as many games against the Nerazzurri this season. No team has taken more points from Ranieri’s team as Novara.
Radovanovic, Morganella and Porcari are banned whilst defenders Ludi and Dellafiore are ruled out. This will surely affect Mondonico’s plans. Colantuono will be all smiles though despite recent results have not been favourable. They struggled for results this year and have already lost four from the first seven matches of 2012. It is time to get back to repeating their displays from the first round and against the weakest side in Serie A with many absentees they should at least get a point from this derby.
Cazzola should replace the injured Carmona in midfield. Alternatively there is Brighi. In defence the suspended Manfredini, team captain, will be replaced by the returning Lucchini.
Verdict: Atalanta +0.25
Novara of course need the points but Atalanta have more quality.
Udinese – Cagliari
With players in Africa on international duty and injuries catching up with Guidolin the effects are now making themselves felt. They played well against Milan in the last round and the same can be said of their midweek match against a defensive-minded PAOK Salonico. However they lost the former and could only draw the latter. It is now two defeats in a row for them in the league and although they have very good home records I have my doubts about them when they host Cagliari this time round due to the increasing number of injured players.
Asamoah is now back from his duty with Ghana but Badu remains out. He may still recover before Isla though. The Chilean midfielder, one of the most important players for Guidolin, is now out for the season. To make it worse team top scorer Di Natale is ruled out for this game and so will be Pinzi who got injured against the Greek side. Both are essential for this team.
Cagliari have had doubts with regards to two of their top performers as well – Pinilla and Cossu. The former is recovered but the latter is touch and go. Team captain Conti is suspended.
Verdict: X
At least the backline is untouched by injury for Udinese. However, I doubt they can create the flowing fast game as usual without Di Natale, Isla and Pinzi.
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