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INTER VS TORINO
Inter Milan continue to be the closest challengers to leaders Napoli, after continuing their unbeaten start to the season last weekend. They saw off Hellas Verona 2-1 on Monday night, and now they need to switch focus to facing Torino. The visitors have forward Andrea Belotti back in action, but will he be enough to make the difference at the San Siro?
The visitors looked noticeably better with Belotti back, following two defeats. They lost to Roma and Fiorentina without scoring a goal or even hitting a shot on target. However, they bounced back with a 2-1 win over Cagliari, which has them back in the top half of the Serie A table. They’re aiming for a European finish this term, but they have some improving to do before they can manage that.
Inter’s aim this season has to be Champions League football, but it’s their lack of European competition that should help them. We’ve seen Premier League sides enjoy title success thanks to having a full week to prepare, and Inter have that luxury this season. That keeps them fresh for each game, which has surely played a part in their strong form. Inter have won nine and drawn two so far this season, with a 100% record at home.
Inter should score against this poor Torino defence, one which has conceded in eight straight games and in 83% of their away trips this term. However, Torino are averaging over a goal per game on the road, and with their forward line back to full strength it would be a shock if they failed to trouble Inter.
Given that the hosts have conceded twice in their last two home games, and having failed to keep a clean sheet in four of their last five matches, we’re backing a Torino goal here. We think both teams to score is fantastic value in this trip, while we’re backing Inter to edge this one 2-1 and continue their push for the title.
There have been at least three goals in each of the last three encounters between these two, with Inter scoring twice home and away last season.
CHIEVO VERONA VS NAPOLI
Napoli may have lost to Manchester City on Wednesday night, but the Italian league leaders are focusing on domestic affairs this season. They’ve been left six points shy of second place in their Champions League group, which means the side who have arguably been the second best team in Europe this term are heading for the Europa League. That’s purely because they’re focusing on the Serie A title.
No matter who Napoli come across in Europe, they’re always prioritising their weekend game. They head to Chievo this weekend, aiming to extend their unbeaten start to the season. Having taken 31 points from a possible 33 so far, the Partenopei have been close to perfect this season.
It’s hard to see anything stopping Napoli in the next few weeks. They’ve won all of their six away trips, and averaged 2.83 goals per game in the process. They’ve now won 15 of their last 16 matches, and that’s put Napoli at the front of the title race. Having seen Chievo lose their last two matches, we struggle to see the Gialloblu causing any problems this weekend.
Napoli score enough goals to sail past sides even when they concede. It’s telling that their only slip of the season was being held to a 0-0 against Inter Milan. While Napoli have a perfect record on their travels, they’ve conceded in three of their last four, conceding five goals across those games. Meanwhile, Chievo have seen both teams score in 100% of their home matches this season, scoring in 82% of their league games. Given that, we think there’s brilliant value available on backing BTTS in this game, so it’s our main tip here.
Napoli have been scoring for fun for quite some time, hitting at least three goals in 13 of their last 15 league games. Their scoring form has been largely down to Dries Mertens, who has hit 16 goals in his last 15 league games. Having scored 35 goals since December, Mertens has been almost unstoppable in Italy, and we’re backing him to score any time here. He should help continue Napoli’s great scoring form, and you can trust the Partenopei to score over 2 goals for the eighth time in nine away league games.
Napoli have won five of their last six meetings with Chievo.
JUVENTUS VS BENEVENTO
If the first half of the week was all about Juventus’ Champions League trip to Portugal against Sporting CP, the second half has been spent gearing up for Sunday’s Serie A home meeting with Benevento.
This will be the first ever official match between Juventus and Benevento, but it is already set to be a very special one:
With four wins and a draw in their last five fixtures across all competitions, it’s been a positive few weeks for the Bianconeri, who have responded well to what was a slow start to October following the draw to Atalanta and defeat to Lazio.
Thumping wins over Udinese and SPAL before that all-important victory last Saturday against Milan at the San Siro ensured that Juve have kept in touch with Napoli and Inter at the top of the table with only three points separating themselves and the first-placed Partenopei going into Matchday 12.
Needless to say, Allegri and company will be keen to get the job done against Benevento this weekend with a win that sees them enter the November international break in high spirits.
It has been a baptism of fire for Benevento in their very first Serie A season. The Campania-based team sit rock-bottom of the table after losing all of their 11 fixtures so far.
Another defeat this weekend would see them equal the unwanted record, set by Manchester United in 1930/31 for the worst start to a campaign across Europe’s top five leagues: 12 losses in 12 games.
A couple of Benevento players are also looking to break their ducks still: Massimo Coda is the player with the most shots (24) without scoring this season, while Danilo Cataldi holds the same record among Serie A midfielders this term: 18 attempts without finding the net.
SASSUOLO VS AC MILAN
Sassuolo welcome AC Milan to the MAPEI stadium looking to take advantage of the miserable run of form for the seven-time European champions. Sassuolo remain just above the bottom three of the table, with just two points separating them from Genoa. AC Milan remain under a lot of pressure with the team close to slipping out of the top half of the table. The club are eighth in the standings with a whopping 15-point deficit to table leaders Napoli.
Sassuolo made the trip to the Stadio San Paolo and suffered a 3-1 defeat against Napoli. This was the third defeat in the last five games for Cristian Bucchi’s team.
Vincenzo Montella continues to remain in charge of AC Milan, who lost 2-0 against Juventus during the weekend. Milan, though, were able to maintain the top spot in the Europa League group stages after managing a goalless draw with AEK Athens on the road.
The recent game between Sassuolo and Milan was also at the MAPEI stadium with Milan managing a 1-0 away victory. Our betting tips and predictions expect a win for Milan.
OTHER SERIE A FIXTURES
Bologna VS Crotone
Genoa VS Sampdoria
Cagliari VS Hellas Verona
Fiorentina VS Roma
Lazio VS Udinese
Atalanta VS SPAL
