Early Bird Tips for Serie A: The entertainment continues in midweek

There’s no rest in Serie A, as after an eventful weekend that saw Inter Milan winning their fifth consecutive game, matchday seven is upon us.

For this Bet Builder piece, Daniele Fisichella decided to focus on under-pressure Napoli, who are without a win in the last three Serie A games, two attacking sides, like Frosinone vs Fiorentina, who are facing each other, and the leaders Inter Milan, who are hosting Sassuolo, after the Neroverdi surprising win against Juventus on Saturday.

There will be changes on each team’s starting eleven and surprises. This round of fixtures promises to be a cracker.

• Early Bird Napoli vs Udinese: Napoli -1 Asian Handicap
• Early Bird Inter Milan vs Sassuolo: Under 3.75 Goals
• Early Bird Frosinone vs Fiorentina: Both Teams to Score – Yes

Acca odds: 4.35

Odds via bet365 as at 10.30pm Monday, August 25th. Odds may now differ.

Napoli vs Udinese: the tension is raising amongst the champions

Italy, Serie A, Wednesday, September, 27th, 7:45pm (UK)

Another draw for Napoli, the second in a row, and the Azzurri are seven points behind Inter Milan and currently outside the Champions League spots. Last year’s Scudetto winners have recorded the worst start to a Serie A campaign since 2015/2016 and are winless in the last three games.

What’s happened to the side that dominated Serie A under Luciano Spalletti? Napoli players look frustrated and nervous, and, at the moment, Rudi Garcia does not seem to be able to restore calm. Also, the Frenchman’s substitutions during games have raised some criticism; the last one was Victor Oshimen, who looked furious after being called to the bench with four minutes left to play in Bologna and the game still 0-0.

At the weekend, Napoli were unlucky, as the Nigerian striker hit the post and missed a penalty, but they never seemed fully in control of the match against a side, Bologna, that opted for a defensive approach. This match against Udinese could represent a turning point, provided the Azzurri can keep their cool.

The Friulani, on the other hand, are also having a terrible start to the season (with just one goal scored), and, in their 2-0 defeat against Fiorentina, missed at least five clear-cut chances. The team has been weakened in the summer, and the absence, due to injury, of Gerard Deulofeu is noticeable.

Napoli are unbeaten in 14 games against Udinese and have won all their last nine matches played at the Diego Armando Maradona.

The hosts’ bad run can’t continue for too long, and I reckon they’d win this game with a comfortable margin.

• Selection: Napoli -1 Asian Handicap
• Best Odds: 1.57
• Bookmaker: bet365

Inter Milan vs Sassuolo: Berardi & co are no stranger to a San Siro win

Italy, Serie A, Wednesday, September, 26th, 7:45pm (UK)

A wonder goal by Federico Dimarco (Europe’s most in-form left-back at the moment?) gave Inter Milan a significant win in Empoli after their Champions League struggles against Real Sociedad. You could tell by watching the game on Sunday that the match in Spain left its toll on Simone Inzaghi’s men, who did not look at their best.

But they got the job done, keeping their fourth clean sheet in five games in Serie A. So far, Inter have been extremely solid, conceding a shot on target every 53 minutes. The only negative note is the injury to Marko Aranutovic that will force Inzaghi to play Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thurams more often, although this fixture could be an opportunity to see Alexis Sanchez from the beginning.

Inter have won their first five Serie A games only on three other occasions (2019/2020, 2015/2016 and 1966/1967), but in none of those campaigns they won the title at the end. Nerazzurri fans are allowed to touch any metal they’ve got handy.

Sassuolo are not strangers to big results against top sides, and last Saturday, they capitalised from a couple of Juventus’s defensive mistakes. When the Neroverdi wins, they often produce spectacular games, and seven of their last nine Serie A games have seen over 2.5 goals scored, with both teams finding the net.

Historically, this tie has been much more levelled than the pedigree of the two clubs might suggest. Sassuolo have beaten Inter Milan already eight times and have come out of San Siro with three points on four occasions.

• Selection: Under 3.75 Goals
• Best Odds: 1.53
• Bookmaker: bet365

Frosinone vs Fiorentina: anything but a dull game

Italy, Serie A, Thursday, September, 28th, 17:30pm (UK)

This should be a good one, perhaps one of the ties with more goals in this mid-week matchday. Frosinone, under Eusebio Di Francesco, have been nothing short of remarkable so far. Against Salernitana last Friday, they had on the pitch a very young side (average age 24 years and 216 days), and continued to produce attacking football which is bringing them results. They’ve had a tough calendar and are unbeaten in four games, finding the net in four out of five occasions (but in their 0-0 vs Udinese, their xG was 2.42).

The hosts are currently 13th for shots (above AC Milan and way ahead of their other two newly promoted sides, Cagliari and Genoa) and are looking to win their third consecutive game at the Benito Stirpe after the successes against Atalanta and Sassuolo.

On Sunday, La Viola rode its luck in Udine and got way more than what they deserved: Udinese xG was 2.40, and Fiorentina (xG 0.28) scored twice on the break. It was Fiorentina’s second clean sheet of the season in all competitions, but previous to that, they had conceded in their last 13 games played away from home.

Under Vincenzo Italiano, the visitors have a tendency to live life a bit too dangerously, playing with a very high line and exposing their centre-backs to many 1v1 situations.

On the other hand, Frosinone is the side whose goalkeepers, Turati and Cerofolini, have been called into action the most in Serie A so far: they’ve made 26 saves in total, whereas Terraciano, Fiorentina’s goalkeeper, is in third position with 18.

• Selection: Both Teams to Score – Yes
• Best Odds: 1.70
• Bookmaker: bet365

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