SATURDAY IN EUROPE: The Ultra previews CAGLIARI v INTER MILAN and LAZIO v ATALANTA both with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
CAGLIARI V INTER MILAN
5pm Football from Europe returns on BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE after Christmas with Serie A action on Saturday! We have a busy three days over the weekend with the focus fully on Serie A as La Liga and the Bundesliga still have a little Christmas break. We have some cracking games over the weekend too; Juventus v Fiorentina on Sunday along with Lazio v Atalanta later on Saturday but we kick off the action with the Champions Inter Milan away to Cagliari. Inter went into Christmas in a nice position; three points behind Atalanta at the top of the table but they do have a game in hand with a better goal difference. At the start of the season I thought Inter would win Serie A quite easily but it’s been a very entertaining battle at the top of the table so far. This is a game that Inter will be expected to win, and it might be a good weekend for them too with everyone else in difficult fixtures. Inter come into the game as the odds on favourites at 1.46 with Cagliari 7.8 and the draw is 5.2 at the time of writing.
Cagliari spent Christmas sitting in the relegation zone which is never a nice feeling – they are only two points off Genoa in 13th however so obviously there are a lot of sides that could be involved in the relegation battle this season – no need to hit the panic button yet. Their under-lining numbers aren’t impressive as you would imagine, but they aren’t as bad as some other clubs. They have a mid-table attacking figure and a low end of mid-table defensive figure. They’ve been very sloppy at the back, and have been under-performing in front of goal. Add that together and you have problems; they been scoring less than one goal per game on average and they come up against a side who are conceding an average xG just under 1.0 here. It’s hard to see past the Inter win, and I couldn’t put anyone off the 1.46 as an option for any weekend Acca. The bet I like is Both Teams Not To Score at 2.11 – effectively an Inter clean sheet in my opinion which they can achieve on their way to winning.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Both Teams Not To Score at 2.11 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/CglInt
LAZIO V ATALANTA
7.45pm We finish Saturday night from Serie A with a cracker as Lazio host Atalanta. This is a huge game that will have a big impact at the top of the table – as I said above, Atalanta come into this weekend sitting top while Lazio are six points behind them in fourth. Lazio fans would have been delighted to see Fiorentina drop points before Christmas, and they now have a three point cushion in the top four; although Fiorentina do have a game in hand. It’s not a surprise that we have an open betting heat here! Atalanta come into the game as the favourites at 2.54 with Lazio 3.05 and the draw is 3.5 at the time of writing. This should be a high quality game – both sides have been playing some very good football this season. Atalanta have the best attacking figure this season, and it’s actually quite a gap to the next best Inter Milan. Lazio have the third best attacking figure – their average xG created of 1.52 is much improved from last season. Both sides have been very impressive at the back too; they are both in the top six on defensive figures – Lazio have an average xG conceded of 1.09 and Atalanta 1.11.
The biggest difference between the sides this season has been at the back in my opinion. Lazio have been very sloppy conceding far more goals than their xG figure suggests. Coming up against the best attacking side in the league here, it’s easy to see why Atalanta are the favourites. Another worry for Lazio here is they always tend to come up short against the top points – they’ve dropped points against Inter (lost 6-0 here), Juventus, Fiorentina and AC Milan. Napoli has been their biggest win this season, but that’s about it in terms of the top sides. Atalanta are creating a lot away from home this season too, they are only 0.07 off their home figure for chances created which is impressive. I’m going to keep stakes a little limited here because quite clearly Lazio have been playing good football this season, but the 2.54 on Atalanta looks nice value here. Lazio are leaking more goals than they should, and Atalanta have been so impressive going forward they can take full advantage.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Atalanta to beat Lazio at 2.54 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/LziAta
