betting
Serie A – Round 9 – Crucial tests for Milan, Inter
By David, BettingExpert.com | Edited
Despite the victory over Udinese Napoli manager Mazzarri has opted for boycotting the press as he seeks to regroup and get his team to focus on the delicate games that await them. Inter’s situation is even more delicate, but that is true only when speaking of their domestic scenario. They welcome rivals Juventus this weekend and although a draw would be a good result they know they cannot really afford that with eight points separating them from Conte’s team. Milan’s trip to Roma will test Serie A newcomer Luis Enrique in his first big home test after drawing away to Inter and losing the derby with Lazio.
Roma – Milan
Very unjust. Those were the words Luis Enrique used to define Roma’s 2-1 defeat at Genoa on Wednesday. He was right. We are finally seeing what this quasi-Barca philosophy he brought along from his home club is all about. It still is an ambitious project though and they will not always find a team ready to allow those gaps all over the pitch to favour their ball possession.
Allegri has focused on building a physical side at Milan in the past year. That should not be good news for Roma’s style of play but lately, with Gattuso out and Ambrosini pushing aside van Bommel due to a serious of careless mistakes in front of defence, the Milan midfield has welcomed more offensive alternatives like Nocerino and Aquilani. Giving away the ball should be less frequent with van Bommel rested though.
The Giallorossi still miss a good number of chances in front of goal and if Milan recover their starting central defensive duo Thiago Silva – Nesta their danger level will be markedly decreased.
Despite looking good I cannot but tilt the balance in favour of Milan. Chances of a draw are quite high and all in all nobody can exclude a great game from Roma and three points going their way, but they have to get many things right. Totti should miss out again and Lamela still has much to learn before being able to replace him effectively. If Pjanic recovers he should be taking up Totti’s role.
Verdict: Milan 0:0
All possession and no goals get the table to be dull for Roma. They are not cynical in the opponents’ box and for this they have already paid the price a number of times. Milan may allow more space in midfield but with Ambrosini sitting in front of defence in place of van Bommel they will be giving away the ball less often. On the other hand Luis Enrique needs to revise his defensive approach. Theirs are horrible mistakes and this may decide the game in Milan’s favour with the likes of Ibrahimovic, Cassano and Boateng lurking.
Catania – Napoli
3-2-1 for Catania in the last six when playing Napoli in Sicily. This is a game that has in recent years not been a favourable fixture for Napoli. Looking back and seeing how they slipped up at Chievo and Cagliari this season will justify why bookmakers are giving prices of around 2.50 for an away win.
Yet, why should we fail to back the evidently stronger team in this case? Just because Catania are coming from five games undefeated, one loss in eight games and have defeated Inter and held Juventus, Fiorentina and Lazio? Well those are very good reasons and Napoli have been doing their part to push those odds on their victory in Sicily up.
Montella has to be recognized his merits. Even last season it was clear he had talent as a manager. The ex-Roma and Sampdoria striker can organize the team very well, especially when it comes to coordinating the defensive aspect. The most common result for him has in fact been the draw – five from eight games.
I don’t think that he will try to take the initiative against Napoli. Doing that often means playing Mazzarri’s game. He will sit back and try maneuvering, looking to take control and progress little by little. In his mind will be that eventually Napoli will push for the victory.
Verdict: 2
For Montella’s plan to work out he will need to recover important men from injury. “el Papu” Gomez is key if they want to keep the ball long enough. Unfortunately, the availability of players is not something he can count on. That can shift the balances here with a week that would have seen the team play three games every three days. Mazzarri has more options and even though Lavezzi and co. have struggled to find the net with a good enough degree of continuity their qualities should prevail in this difficult stadium. They will only need to be patient and work their way to goal.
Inter – Juventus
There are eight points between Inter and Juventus in the table and the Nerazzurri are still two points off the danger line. One would be very tempted to say that it is definitely the time for them to move up to where they ought to belong.
Substitutions in the match at Bergamo against Atalanta were a little suspect. Inter did not start at their best against a team which is running wild in Serie A at the moment but they moved into the match little by little, taking the lead through Sneijder. In the second half they allowed more of the pitch to Atalanta but the right move had looked for Ranieri to insert Pazzini in place of Milito. However, he opted for taking off Sneijder instead.
Juventus may not be very eager to welcome back the man they sacked a few years ago for faults, subsequent history teaches us, not of his own but of a club still in the process of getting back up on its feet.
What they have managed to achieve so far with their new manager Conte looks more like it for them and after the three points against Fiorentina on Tuesday, which handed them sole leadership of the Serie A, they look good for keeping the momentum going. It was looking easy for them in the first half but squandered too many chances not to get punished by the Viola. The first 15 minutes of the second half exposed many fragilities for Juve.
Bad timing from Pirlo to be dropping his game in may opinion. He has always played against Inter with a vengeance but after his anonymous display on Tuesday I seriously doubt he will be able to create himself enough space in Inter’s physical midfield. Kharja’s sloppy marking in the first half with Fiorentina was enough to cut him out of the game. When Mihajlovic’s plans shifted and he abandoned this man-marking idea Pirlo still proved ineffective. Luckily for Conte Pepe worked hard for the team and injected some creativity – very rare from him.
Verdict: 1
Hopefully Ranieri subbed Sneijder and gave Pazzini only half an hour in view of this big match. And, we hope, that Maicon was preserving himself against Atalanta. Zarate was exceptional in midweek. If he can take control of that top left side of the pitch Juve will be in trouble. The final result of this match may be a big doubt but if on their day the mentioned players can help push for a much needed victory that will most of all give them that mental boost they need so badly at this moment.
28.10.2011, 21:15 CET
They are rafrochen. To make matters worse for Inter Maicon is a slight doubt and Julio Cesar and Thiago Motta should be ruled out.
Buffon and Vucinic were not at their best but they still seem to have been recovered in time.
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28.10.2011, 17:40 CET
3 tricky games indeed.