The Coppa Italia quarterfinals are upon us, as eight clubs remain in the fight for the hardware.
The 70th edition of the Italian Cup has provided a few surprises this year. For the first time in quite a few years a Serie B second-tier club, has reached this level of the tournament. Cesena takes on AS Roma in their unexpected run to the Coppa Italia quarterfinals, in the last of the four contests.
Let’s look at who is left in the tournament, and reveal the lines and dates.
January 24
Napoli vs Fiorentina
3-Way 1×2 Lines:
Napoli -150
Draw +300
Fiorentina +450
Handicap/Spread
Napoli -1 +110
Fiorentina +1 -120
Total 2.5:
Over -135
Under +115
____________________________
January 25
Juventus vs AC Milan
3-Way 1×2 Lines:
Juventus -170
Draw +300
Milan +500
Handicap/Spread:
Juventus -1 -110
Milan +1 -110
Total 2.5:
Over -110
Under -110
_____________________________
January 31
Inter Milan vs Lazio
3-Way 1×2 Lines:
Inter +115
Draw +230
Lazio +225
Handicap/Spread:
Inter -0.5 +115
Lazio +0.5 -135
Total 2.5:
Over -115
Under -105
______________________________
February 1
AS Roma vs Cesena
3-Way 1×2 Lines:
Roma -715
Draw +700
Cesena +1500
Handicap/Spread:
Roma -2 -110
Cesena +2 -110
Total 3.5:
Over +105
Under -115
_______________________________
I will cover the two matches on January 24 and 25 today, and put up the other two-match preview next week as they get closer. Of course, you never know what can happen over the weekend in league play, so let’s discuss the opening matches.
As I said, this year’s Coppa Italia has been fun to watch to this point. There were some fun early upsets in the second round, like Cremonese beating Cittadella and Pisa beating Brescia. If you recall, Cittadella got off to a smoking start to their Serie B campaign, although that has changed plenty since. That was a surprising result though at the time. Cremonese were, of course, eliminated in no time, losing 3 – 0 to Empoli the next round.
Speaking of Empoli, they too were upset at home in the round of 16, providing the story for Cesena to be here. Cesena’s surprise run leaves them as the lone club outside of Serie A left in the dance. Cesena last won a cup in 2008/09, when they won the Lega Pro (Serie C) Coppa Italia.
What makes Cesena’s run even more surprising is that they are barely hanging on to Serie B status. Entering the weekend of January 21/22, Cesena are on the relegation line. The bottom three clubs in Serie B will be sent to Lega Pro, and Cesena is in 20th of 22 clubs. The Serie B campaign has just basically started their second half, so there is plenty of time remaining for them to climb.
So to the matches we go and the first match actually has another surprise attached to it.
What the hell are the line setters doing offering Fiorentina +1 at -120?
Is that supposed to be some kind of joke? I am not even kidding, because the second I clicked over to the handicap line and saw +1 I had to wipe up the orange juice I was drinking at the time, because I ended up wearing it!
I could not get that play in soon enough, and for so many reasons. First of all, I get that Napoli is on this run right now, and I just sat and watched the 2 – 1 win over Milan on beINsports on Saturday. Napoli can score often and make it look so easy, but they scored twice and then just sputtered. I honestly thought they might just go nuts, scoring twice in about eight minutes. Yes they won 2 – 1, but those last 80 something minutes were uneventful to say the least.
If you read my Italian Serie A Round 21 Preview, you enjoyed Fiorentina at +130 over Chievo. You also enjoyed the Milan / Napoli Over 2.5 to go 2 – 0 on Saturday
Now Fiorentina has the task of trying to slow down Napoli, which no one has really had success doing. Fiorentina struggled to slow Napoli down just a month ago in league play. On December 22, before the break, the two clubs played to a 3 – 3 draw at Fiorentina. Napoli has actually mustered up a result in the last six meetings between the clubs. Four wins for Napoil before two straight draws have been played out in the last six meetings.
For this one though, as I said, I cannot just let a +1 sit there in front of me without testing the water.
Suggested Play:
Fiorentina +1 @ -120 vs Napoli
The next evening we arrive to Juventus Stadium, and what a beat-down I am expecting here.
I have talked about the issues in Milan, even with Donnarumma in net. The Milan defense is suspect right now, and I am not convinced that they will be able to control anything.
Juventus wins this match 2 – 1, and that is all we need to see happen to cash a ticket on the total.
Suggested Play:
Juventus / AC Milan Over 2.5 @ -110
The -1 handicap line at -110 for Juve has some value here, but obviously if Milan scores that goal, Juve needs three.
I will just settle on the total there, and the Viola at +1 for my two plays this week.
Next week, I will return to cover the other two matches, which I am more than looking forward to.
In Bocca Al Lupo as always!
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