Serie A Betting: Siena v Juventus

Italian Football / Dan Fitch / 23 May 2009 / Leave a Comment

Claudio Ranieri has been shown the door at Juventus and Dan Fitch thinks that they will bounce back with a victory, when they face Siena. Best Bet: Under 2.5 goals at [2.26].

Things can change so quickly in football. Not so long ago, Juventus were clutching onto Inter Milan's coattails and seemed to be making good progress in what was their second season back in Serie A.

Then a string of poor results has not just seen Juventus' title aspirations disappear, but also put their chances of automatic Champions League qualification in danger.

When a team gets stuck in such a rut, it is no surprise when the manager is sacked. Claudio Ranieri never fully won over the Juve fans and has been replaced by the former club captain, Ciro Ferrera, whose first game sees his side travel to Siena. All the action can be seen via Betfair Live Video.

The hierarchy at Juventus reacted after a run of five straight draws in the league, which took them to eight games in total, without a win. This collapse in form has seen Fiorentina make up lost ground, moving to within one point of Juve, with two games remaining.

With Fiorentina in fine form and playing away at bottom of the table Lecce, it is vital that Juventus get back to winning ways, if they do not want to end the day in fourth place.

With two goals from the last two games, Vincenzo Iaquinta may be the man to fire Juventus to victory. When the anytime goalscorer market opens on Betfair closer to kick off, expect Iaquinta to be priced at around [2.3], with Amauri at [2]. For Siena, Massimo Maccarone will be around [4.5].

Maccarone has been Siena's top scorer this season with eight goals, helping his team to a position of mid-table safety. Alarmingly for Juventus, Siena are overdue a draw, having won five and lost five of their last ten games.

Siena beat Juventus 1-0 at home last season, though Juve have won seven of the last eight games between the sides, in total. The last three games have all failed to break the 2.5 goals barrier. Under 2.5 goals can be backed at [2.26], with the over 2.5 goals at [1.75].

Ciro Ferrara will be without the injured Sissoko, Salihamidzic, Knezevic, Ekdal, Molinaro, Grygera and Del Piero. Siena have just Guadalupi and Eleftheropoulos injured.

Siena are [9.2], with the draw [4.9] and Juventus [1.44]. While I feel that Juventus should get the win they crave, the price represents poor value. More appealing are the draw/Juventus at [4.4], or Juventus/Juventus at [2.14].

A 1-0 Juventus win is [7.8], with 2-0 the same price and 2-1 at [8.8]. Juventus are likely to priced at round [2.3] to keep a clean sheet when the market gains more liquidity, with Siena at about [8].