Tom's 'Serie A' Preview

With television producers across the land still scarred by the memory of Laura Esposito and Mark Chapman’s on screen chemistry, any Italian football fan will probably be squinting at a PC monitor, cursing their poor broadband connection yet again this weekend. So why not have a flutter and ease the pain?

Napoli v Udinese
Udinese are one of those sides that probably shouldn’t be backed, or backed against. While Napoli were busy losing in Florence last week, Udinese stunned a rejuvenated Juventus with relevant ease (have I convinced you yet?).

Napoli at home is however as safer bet as you’ll find anywhere in Italian football. Edoardo Reja’s hungry young side are almost impregnable at home* and so far they have successfully managed to hold on to their prized assets despite strong interest from the European elite.

Udinese are not the counter attacking force they once were (as evidenced by only mustering an almost embarrassing 1-0 home win over Tottenham in the UEFA cup), while Napoli pose a serious threat to the northern elite. Home win.

Napoli @ 10/11 Bet365

*(Though not completely impregnable, as anybody who backed them during their 3-0 mauling at home to Roma will testify)

Lazio v Milan
AC Milan are yet again threatening to not even challenge for the Scudetto this year. But with no Champions league final back-up policy, the pressure is starting grow on Carlo Ancelloti. Lazio, spearheaded by the free scoring Rossi and Pandev have a pretty strong home record and will be confident of taking advantage of an aging Milan defence that was punished by a late Diego Milito strike at Genoa in midweek.

Having said that, Milan are playing quite well of late. Beckham and Ambrosini have linked up surprisingly comfortably in midfield, while Kaka and Pato’s relationship continues to flourish up top. With two dodgy defences on show and an array of attacking threat, I’ll plump for there being over 2.5 goals in this game.

Over 2.5 Goals @ 4/5 Bet365

Bologna v Fiorentina
The viola were unlucky to lose to Juventus in midweek and have a habit of grinding out away wins, while recent form doesn’t suggest Bologna will buck that trend. Cesare Prandelli’s men have one of the strongest defences in Serie A, and even without the injured Adrian Mutu, should have enough fire-power to get through a Bologna defence that let in four at home last week. Indeed, when you consider Olivier Dacourt snubbed a move to Bologna this week, you should know all you need to know about Bologna’s prospects . Away win.

Fiorentina @ 5/4 Bet365

TM