Italian Serie A Round 32 kicks off this weekend with seven fixtures remaining in the 2015/16 campaign, as Juventus looks to build on a six-point lead over Napoli at the top of the league table.
As the three-day weekend is set to begin on Saturday, April 9, four matches lead to a Sunday slate that holds five more league affairs, with the round concluding on Monday at Stadio Olimpico for the match with AS Roma and Bologna.
Let’s start with the look of the table entering the round, and show you how each club enters the weekend knowing that there are only 21 available points left to obtain.
Position – Club Record W – D – L GF:GA #Points
1. Juventus 23 – 4 – 4 56:16 73 Pts
2. Napoli 20 – 7 – 4 63:27 67 Pts
3. AS Roma 18 – 9 – 4 66:32 63 Pts
4. Fiorentina 16 – 8 – 7 51:33 56 Pts
5. Inter Milan 16 – 7 – 8 41:30 55 Pts
6. AC Milan 13 – 10 – 8 41:33 49 Pts
7. Sassuolo 12 – 12 – 7 40:34 48 Pts
8. Lazio 11 – 9 – 11 39:42 42 Pts
9. Chievo Verona 11 – 8 – 12 37:40 41 Pts
10. Genoa 10 – 7 – 14 36:37 37 Pts
11. Torino 9 – 9 – 13 39:43 36 Pts
12. Bologna 10 – 6- 15 30:36 36 Pts
13. Atalanta 9 – 9 – 13 30:36 36 Pts
14. Empoli 9 – 9 – 13 34:43 36 Pts
15. Udinese 9 – 7 – 15 29:46 34 Pts
16. Sampdoria 8 – 9 – 14 44:49 33 Pts
17. Carpi 6 – 10 – 15 29:49 28 Pts
18. Palermo 7 – 7 – 17 29:54 28 Pts
19. Frosinone 7 – 6 – 18 29:59 27 Pts
20. Hellas Verona 3 – 13 – 15 27:51 22 Pts
There is really nothing else left for Italian clubs to concentrate on, now that all Serie A clubs have been eliminated from exterior competitions. Other than the Juventus vs AC Milan match that will decide the Coppa Italia title, no Italian clubs are left standing in Champions or Europa League.
Champions League round of 16 results left AS Roma and Juventus out of the competition, and Lazio was also bounced at the same stage of Europa League that is down to the final eight that has the first legs starting on Thursday, April 7.
Let’s get back to the full schedule, and as mentioned we have four matches starting off the round on Saturday.
The lines are up, so that will be the starting point we work with.
Saturday, April 9 – 4 Matches
Frosinone vs Inter Milan
3-Way: 1: Frosinone +500 Home ; X: +300 Draw ; 2: Inter -165 Away
Spread: Frosinone +1 -125 ; Inter -1 +105
Total 2.5: Over -120 ; Under +100
Chievo Verona vs Carpi
3-Way: 1: Chievo +125 Home ; X: +220 Draw ; 2: Carpi +280 Away
Spread: Chievo -0.5 +115 ; Carpi +0.5 -125
Total 2: Over -120 ; Under +100
Sassuolo vs Genoa
3-Way: 1: Sassuolo +100 Home ; X: +235 Draw ; 2: Genoa +305 Away
Spread: Sassuolo -0.5 +100 ; Genoa +0.5 -120
Total 2.5: Over +120 ; Under -140
AC Milan vs Juventus
3-Way: 1: Milan +295 Home ; X: +225 Draw ; 2: Juve +110 Away
Spread: Milan +0.5 -130 ; Juve -0.5 +110
Total 2: Over -120 ; Under +100
That brings us to Sunday, April 10, and five matches will play out on the Italian pitch.
Sunday, April 10 – 5 Matches
Empoli vs Fiorentina
3-Way: 1: Empoli +205 Home ; X: +220 Draw ; 2: Fiorentina +150 Away
Spread: Empoli Pk +115 ; Fiorentina Pk -135
Total 2.5: Over +110 ; Under -130
Napoli vs Hellas Verona
3-Way: 1: Napoli -425 Home ; X: +535 Draw ; 2: Verona +1275 Away
Spread: Napoli -2 +115 ; Verona +2 -135
Total 3.5: Over +120 ; Under -140
Sampdoria vs Udinese
3-Way: 1: Samp +120 Home ; X: +230 Draw ; 2: Udinese +260 Away
Spread: Samp -0.5 +120 ; Udinese +0.5 -140
Total 2.5: Over +110 ; Under -130
Torino vs Atalanta
3-Way: 1: Torino -115 Home ; X: +235 Draw ; 2: Atalanta +365 Away
Spread: Torino -0.5 -115 ; Atalanta +0.5 -105
Total 2: Over -145 ; Under +125
Palermo vs Lazio
3-Way: 1: Palermo +265 Home ; X: +245 Draw ; 2: Lazio +110 Away
Spread: Palermo +0.5 -130 ; Lazio -0.5 +110
Total 2.5: Over +100 ; Under -120
The match that wraps up round 32 comes at Stadio Olimpico, as Roma hopes to maintain a Champions League position down the stretch of the campaign, with the third spot in the table theirs entering the weekend. The Capital club cannot pass or be passed in the table, no matter the results around the league in front of their outing with Bologna. After a big Derby win over Lazio this past weekend, Roma sits four points behind Napoli, and seven points clear of fourth place Fiorentina in the table.
Monday, April 11 – 1 Match
AS Roma vs Bologna
3-Way: 1: Roma -285 Home ; X: +395 Draw ; 2: Bologna +900 Away
Spread: Roma -1.5 +110 ; Bologna +1.5 -130
Total 2.5: Over -115 ; Under -105
_____________________________________
Okay then, so we see no real surprises in the line setters offers, short of a few totals that will always have my attention, as many of you know by now.
So, do you remember where you were if you live in the United States, just before Halloween last year? Well that weekend was the last time Juventus lost a match in league play, taking us all the way back to October 28, after a 1 – 0 loss to Sassuolo at Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia.
The current run by Juventus contains a league-record streak by Gigi Buffon of keeping the ball out of his net, which also has helped Juventus open up their biggest lead in the table entering the round. Six points separate the league leaders from Napoli, and seven matches are now all that stands in the way of a fifth straight Scudetto title in Serie A for the Old Lady.
AC Milan has the weekend assignment of trying to break down the Juve back and Gigi Buffon, with the match featured as part of Saturday’s fixtures. In what is assuredly the feature match of the round, Juventus plans on stretching their lead over Napoli, or at worst keeping it, while AC Milan has six points to make up on Inter Milan for a berth in European competition next season.
Two Sunday affairs to note that will have an effect on the relegation battle, take place with the matches between Sampdoria who is hosting Udinese, and Napoli who is hosting Hellas Verona.
Sampdoria (34) and Udinese (33) are separated by one point, and both clubs are a handful of points away from the final drop spot, that is currently held by Palermo with 28 points.
Napoli cannot afford to let Juventus ease to the finish line, and Verona is six points behind that position Palermo is holding, making that match important for both clubs this weekend.
I have a thread created on the Get More Sports Forum for this weekend’s round, so Click HERE to go directly to the link, if you would like to interact or discuss the matches.
We welcome new and current members of the forum to put their thoughts out there, and look forward to seeing you take part in the community.
