Serie A Betting: A good week to side with Juventus

Italian Football / Dave Farrar / 19 February 2010 / Leave a Comment

Amauri is one of the toughest forwards in the league to mark with his power and aerial prowess

"Juve’s cause on Sunday is boosted by the fact that Marco Di Vaio will not be available for Bologna, and without him I just can’t see the home team, admirable though they are, finding a way to score."

Dave Farrar tells us why Juventus are good for three points away from home this week and why he's relishing seeing his betting nemesis in the flesh.

GENOA v UDINESE

After being the over 2.5 goal bankers in their home games for much of the season, Genoa have lost their goalscoring mojo in recent weeks, with four of their last five home games featuring under 2.5 goals. Gian Piero Gasperini's team have been badly hit by injuries, and by the loss of Hernan Crespo to Parma, but last week at Juventus there were signs that they may be ready to turn on the style at the Luigi Ferraris once more.

They were unlucky to lose in Turin, with Alessandro Del Piero's winning penalty an unfortunate reminder of the bad old days in Serie A with Juve having the key decisions go their way, and I fully expect them to beat an Udinese side which also lost 3-2 away from home last week.

Udinese are yet to win away from home all season, but their Neapolitan strikeforce of Floro Flores and Di Natale will always be a danger in front of goal, and while I don't think that they'll beat Genoa, they'll more than likely score. A friend of mine has a theory that the early evening game on a Saturday never produces goals, but I'm happy to dismiss that as bunkum and go for two teams who were involved in five goal thrillers last week to produce goals once again.

RECOMMENDATION Over 2.5 goals in GENOA v UDINESE @ [2.06]

BOLOGNA v JUVENTUS

I had my fingers badly burned a couple of weeks ago when I supported Milan to go to Bologna and win, but Juve are showing signs of a revival, and I can't resist backing them at close to even money to come away with three points on Sunday.

They may have been fortunate to beat Genoa last week and give Alberto Zaccheroni his first win since taking over, but Juve were impressive against Ajax in Thursday night's Europa League game, and there'll be no shortage of effort on Sunday: they badly want that fourth Champions league place and rightly feel that they have every chance of getting it.

Juve's cause on Sunday is boosted by the fact that Marco Di Vaio will not be available for Bologna, and without him I just can't see the home team, admirable though they are, finding a way to score. Alessandro Del Piero is starting to enjoy his Indian summer in a black and white shirt, and with Amauri scoring again, I'll take Juve to win easily at a very attractive price.

RECOMMENDATION JUVENTUS to beat BOLOGNA @ [1.92]

BARI v MILAN

ESPN's Sunday night game may not look instantly enticing, but I'll be in Bari to meet my punting nemesis Paulo Barreto, and I think that all of the ingredients are there for a real classic. Milan know that they have to start winning again to make sure of a Champions League place for next season, and after being so disappointing against Manchester United last week, I think that they'll go all out for the win in Bari.

The home team are on the slide, losing three of their last four games, and with four of their last five home games producing over 2.5 goals, I think that they'll look to attack an injury-hit Milan rearguard. Barreto is back after missing out last week, which gives them a crucial extra edge in front of goal, and now that Pato is fit again, it's hard to see a Rossoneri forward line of Ronaldinho, Pato and Borriello not scoring at least once. When Inter came to Bari, the game finished 2-2, and we could be in for a similar sort of evening here.

RECOMMENDATION Back Over 3.5 Goals in BARI v MILAN @ [3.8]