Verona v Bologna

This weekend’s Serie A action is kicked off with Bologna travelling north to face a Hellas Verona side buoyed by their recent 4-2 win against Sassuolo.

Igor Tudor’s men have impressed this season since he took charge of the Gialloblu following Eusebio Di Francesco’s dismissal. Recent inconsistencies mean they harbour minimal hopes of breaking into the European places but atop half finish is certainly on the cards.

There is little shame in conceding twice away at Sassuolo given the Neroverdi’s wealth of attacking options, but the four goals that Verona scored suggest they should have enough to beat a Bologna team devoid of confidence.Three of those goals were scored by Antonin Barak who is beginning to be linked with a summer move too much bigger sides than Verona. The other came from Gianluca Caprari who has been rejuvenated under Tudor.

Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side was surprisingly impressive during the early weeks of the season but they have now won just once in their last six Serie A matches. They have also found the net once in their last four.

With the differing levels of confidence in the two camps, expect Verona to pick up another three points at the Stadio Bentegodi on Friday night and keep their faint European dreams alive.

---

Genoa v Udinese

Genoa are effectively at a crisis point right now. Having sacked Andriy Shevchenko after just nine games in charge, they then received a 6-0 thrashing from Fiorentina.

The Grifone’s fortunes need to change quickly if they are to avoid relegation. Their only win of the season came away at Cagliari back in September and Saturday’s match against Udinese provides, in theory, one of their better chances to get that second win of the campaign.

Udinese have been keeping their head above the parapet so far this season but still sit just seven points above the drop zone. Whilst Genoa will view this as an opportunity to finally gain some more points, the Bianconeri will see it as a chance to distance themselves further from another relegation candidate.

Genoa are the third-lowest scorers in Serie right now and whilst Udinese have now managed 31 goals, they are not the sort to score more than they need to in one game. Should they take the lead, expect them to see the game out with minimal fuss.

Udinese must be wary of the fact Genoa has just appointed Alexander Blessin to replace Shevchenko and whilst he has not got long to prepare for this match on Saturday afternoon, there is always a chance that the Rossoblu will have a fresh urgency about them.

Don’t expect any possible ‘new manager bounce’ to result in an abundance of goals for the Genovese this weekend, but perhaps they can scrape a win if Udinese are off the pace.

---

Inter v Venezia

Inter come into this match against Venezia on Saturday evening after being taken to extra-time in the Coppa Italia by Empoli on Wednesday night.The Nerazzurri managed to progress thanks to a wonderful goal from Andrea Ranocchia in the 90 minutes and a strike from Stefano Sensi in extra time to make it 3-2.

Simone Inzaghi did play a heavily rotated side in that match with just Denzel Dumfries and Lautaro Martinez starting from the usual first-choice side. Nevertheless, the likes of Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu, Ivan Perisic, and Edin Dzeko still had to play a sizeable amount of minutes.

That means Inter may be lacking their usual potency and intensity when they host Venezia at San Siro which is why there is always the chance that a bright start from the Arancioneroverdi could result in an early lead. Venezia has had all week to prepare for this game and it could see Nani given his first start for the club.

Should that happen, expect Inter to click into gear sooner rather than later and turn proceedings around. They will not want to see their title challenge hindered by a team that is a genuine candidate for relegation.

Inter are light upfront now due to the injury that Joaquin Correa suffered very early on against Empoli but the partnership of Dzeko and Martinez has been too much for almost everyone Inter has faced this season.

---

Lazio v Atalanta

The majority of fixtures that Atalanta are involved in contain lots of goals. They score a lot and they concede a lot.When they travel down to the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday evening they’ll face a side who fit into the same category. Whilst Atalanta are the favourites here given the absentees of Pedro, Francesc Acerbi and Mattia Zaccagni, expect Lazio to find the net.

Ciro Immobile is in good form and netted twice last week against Salernitana and he is continuing to link up excellently with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

As for Atalanta, some of their goal threat is gone with the absence of Duvan Zapata, Ruslan Malinovskyi, and Robin Gosens. Even despite that, the team on the pitch know full well that they are still in the hunt for the Scudetto this season and will play with the intensity and desire of a team that thinks its time for success has come.

To further back up the BTTS argument, Lazio are the third-highest scorers in the division heading into this weekend having netted 46 times already, whilst Atalanta has scored just two less than the Biancocelesti.That is coupled with the fact that Atalanta have conceded the most out of Serie A’s top five teams, and Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio have conceded the most out of the top half of the table. Despite the injuries to both sides, this is a game that promises goals and entertainment

---

18+ please gamble responsibly.

---

Back the Four and Five Star Selections as a Treble on Betfair ⬇️

*Bet link only appears when accessing from mobile.

---

Haven’t got a Betfair account? You’re in luck…

Sign up to Betfair and get a full refund if your first bet loses. Grab an account through the offer below and place £20 on the 4/1 Serie A Best Bets Treble. Here are the two possible outcomes: