Serie A Betting: Siena v Inter Milan

Italian Football / Dan Fitch / 19 December 2008 / Leave a Comment

Dan Fitch looks for the best bets in the league leaders' trip to Siena and awards the Special One a B+ for his half-term report.

As a youngster, I never looked forward to receiving my school report card. My peers would reap the rewards of their industry and noisily compare how many A plus marks they'd received.

I, however, would reap the just rewards of my inactivity and would quietly try to draw solace from the fact that I had received slightly more C grades than D grades.

Though I always hated receiving school reports, I recognised that they must have been good fun for the teachers. This was their chance to get some payback for all those sarcastic comments, the flicked ink that stained their shirts whenever they turned their backs.

However, compiling school reports wouldn't be so much fun that it would actually be worth becoming a teacher. Especially considering that these days the average schoolboy has now swapped his weapon of choice from a peashooter, to a 6-inch blade.

So with the teaching profession ruled out due to my cowardice, it's lucky that I have the medium of my weekly Italian football preview to allow me to flex my school report writing muscles. First up is the report for the naughtiest boy in school... Yes Mr Mourinho, that means you.

Young Jose was a new starter this term and took his time to adapt to his surroundings. He has now got into his stride and is performing very well, though he is occasionally guilty of being distracted by the sound of his own voice.

Jose's mark this term would be an A, but for the fact that he has struggled in his European studies. His performance in this discipline needs to be improved upon, but overall it has been a very solid start. B+.

With that ambition fulfilled, I'm delighted to invite you to watch Siena v Inter Milan on Saturday night, via the medium of Betfair Live Video; the TV station that would love to show an old Morecambe and Wise Christmas special on December 25th, if we could just get our hands on the rights.

Inter will be well satisfied with their position going into the winter break, as they hold a six point lead over Juventus and a nine point gap over AC Milan, while last season's runners up Roma are a distant 16 points adrift.

To ensure that they retain this lead over Christmas, Inter must claim an away win at Siena. To achieve this, Inter will need to be less complacent than they were last weekend, when they allowed Chievo to pull back to level terms, having been 2-0 up. Inter eventually prevailed 4-2, after Ibrahimovic grabbed a late brace.

The victory may not have come easily, but it did stretch Inter's winning record in Serie A to seven straight games, while they remain unbeaten in 11. In contrast, Siena come into this fixture on the back of two consecutive defeats and with a clash against Juventus to follow this weekend's match with Inter, it doesn't look like the Tuscan club will be climbing the league any time soon.

It should be said, though, that Siena have an excellent home record and indeed, are unbeaten in their seven Serie A matches at the Artemio Franchi stadium. Their success has been built on the back of a strong defence, having only conceded two goals at home this season.

Adriano and Cruz are both out for Inter, so this could be a chance for Mourinho to play the 18-year old striker Mario Balotelli. Siena will be without Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos and Daniele Ficagna.

When the first goalscorer market opens, Balotelli is likely to be available at around [6.5], with Ibrahimovic around [5.0]. Middlesbrough fans might want to take a punt on Siena's Massimo Maccarone for old time sake, with the goal-shy forward available at around [11.0].

Siena are [6.8], with the draw at [3.7] and Inter at [1.69]. Inter have won on their last two visits to Siena, though it should be noted that Siena forced a shock 2-2 draw at the San Siro on the penultimate day of last season, that required Inter to win at Parma on the final day to take the Scudetto.

I expect an Inter win, with a half time/full time result for Mourinho's side an attractive [2.8]. A 1-0 Inter win is [7.2], with 2-0 to Inter at [8.2]. Siena can be backed at [5.2] to maintain their defensive resolve at home and keep a clean sheet.