WEDNESDAY SERIE A: The Ultra previews the return of Serie A on Wednesday previewing three of the matches with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
ROMA V BOLOGNA
3.30pm Serie A returns with a bang on BETDAQ Betting Exchange with a full fixture list on Wednesday! We have some top class fixtures to enjoy – all eyes will no doubt be on Inter Milan v Napoli tonight, but we kick off the day with Jose Mourinho’s Roma hosting Bologna. Roma started the season on fire, they were creating a huge amount of chances and playing with confidence – however they went into the World Cup with only one win from their last four Serie A games and that meant they sat down in 7th place. A lot of the top clubs had been dropping points in Italy before the World Cup, and given Roma were sitting 1st in the xG table it looked like they might actually challenge for a Champions League spot. They are still in the mix, only three points behind Lazio in fourth at the moment, but it’s fair to say that they are under pressure and can’t afford to drop many more points if they want to stay in the battle for the European spots. It always interesting to see how Jose Mourinho handles these situations too – we all know how great he is when the team is playing their heart out, but he can also lose a dressing room quickly.
Roma come into this game as the odds on favourites – currently trading 1.67 at the time of writing. Bologna went into the World Cup sitting in mid-table and they would have been happy with that. They are your classic mid-table Serie A side; they have finished 12th or 13th for the last three seasons. As you would expect they are pretty limited against the better sides, and their away form isn’t great this season. They have only recorded one away win all season, and they have conceded 12 goals in their away games to Inter Milan, Napoli and Juventus. Roma went into the World Cup playing average football but you have to say the World Cup came at a good time for them. It gave them a chance to re-set, and I feel they are worth backing here. Despite their setbacks before the World Cup, if you look at the performances over all they have been very impressive this season. I’m going to keep stakes low, but I feel Roma can kick-start their season again.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Roma to beat Bologna at 1.67 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/RomBol
CREMONESE V JUVENTUS
5.30pm Next we have Cremonese hosting Juventus. When you look at the table, this is a must win game for Juventus. They can’t afford to drop points against a side sitting in the bottom three. After a very slow start the season, Juventus went into the World Cup sitting in third place and I feel they would have been delighted with that after the poor start! They clearly benefitted from the other sides dropping points as well – indeed Inter Milan didn’t even sit in the top four going into the World Cup. Unfortunately for Cremonese, they went into the World Cup sitting in the bottom three. Although they are 18th, they are still six points adrift from Spezia in 17th and it looks like the bottom three are becoming a little dethatched now. Obviously the World Cup was a chance to start fresh, and perhaps the sides who are quite limited squad wise might benefit from their players not playing in the World Cup. Only time will tell in that sense, but it’s very hard to see past a comfortable Juventus win here.
Cremonese are the only side left in Serie A to not win a game this season, but the market clearly doesn’t trust this Juventus side. They are trading 1.73 at the time of writing, which on face value is quite high for a side sitting in the top three against a side sitting in the relegation zone. In fairness to Cremonese, they have managed seven draws from their 15 games so they are getting results. Betting wise, I wouldn’t be rushing to lump on Juventus. The under-lining numbers from Juventus this season haven’t been overly impressive – and they have been quite lucky at the back too – they should have conceded over double the goals they have done so far. The problem for Cremonese is that they have been very poor at the back – they are conceding close to two goals per game, and you can easily see why they are sitting in the bottom three with stats like that. I’m going to stay away from the match odds market here, and I like Under 2.5 goals at 1.89. Juventus have clearly struggled to score goals this season, and I fully expect Cremonese to sit back and play for a 0-0. Juventus will likely grind out a win in the end, but this could be a dull affair.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Under 2.5 goals at 1.89 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/CreJuv
INTER MILAN V NAPOLI
7.45pm We finish the evening with the highlight of the day as Inter Milan host Napoli! This should be a cracker, and it’s fair to say it’s a must win game for Inter Milan if they want to have any chance of getting back into the title race. It’s been a very poor start to the season for Inter, and they went into the World Cup sitting outside the top four in fifth. It’s been the opposite story for Napoli as at the moment they are running away with the Serie A title. They sit a whopping eight points clear of AC Milan at the moment, and they have been on a long winning run domestically. They have put 11 wins together, and when everyone else was dropping points here and there they have just been extending their lead. They fully deserve to be sitting top of the table looking at their under-lining numbers too – they are creating an average of over two goals per game and conceding less than one. For all that Inter Milan are 11 points behind Napoli heading into this game, they basically have the same stats. The difference has been Inter have been conceding more goals than they should be, but that’s their own fault conceding sloppy goals.
This should be a very close game, and I was surprised to see Inter trading clear favourites when I clicked into the market. We have a pretty open market, with Inter trading 2.46 at the time of writing but I would them a little bigger, and Napoli a little shorter than their current 3.15. Napoli are definitely one of those sides who wouldn’t have wanted the World Cup break because they had such good momentum and they were on an 11 game winning streak – from that point of view it will be interesting to see how they re-start their season here, especially in such a difficult game. Both sides have been involved in a lot of high scoring games this season, and while Over 2.5 goals is a tempting bet at 1.71 I prefer the Inter Milan lay at 2.46. I can see Napoli making life very difficult for Inter here, and I wouldn’t even be surprised to see them win. From a betting point of view however, it’s nice to have the draw on our side here and I’m happy with the Inter lay.
The Ultra Says:
Two points lay (liability) Inter Milan to beat Napoli at 2.46 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/IntNap
