Lega Calcio kicks off a new campaign, as the 2017/18 Serie A opening matches are set for August 19. All 20 clubs have their hopes set on the Scudetto, while Juventus seeks to earn an unprecedented 7th straight league title.
Empoli, Palermo and Pescara were demoted to second tier after dismal campaigns a season ago. Spal, Benevento and Hellas Verona find themselves in top flight this season, after promotion from Serie B. Spal returns to top flight after a 49-year absence, while Hellas Verona only spent one year back in Serie B. Benevento is making their first trip to Serie A in club history. Their appearance will make them the 67th team to compete in top flight Italian football, which has played 116 seasons to date.
Six clubs from Serie A will be competing in Champions League and Europa League. Juventus and AS Roma will enter Champions League at group stage, after finishing in the top two positions in the table. Napoli will also be partaking in Champions League, but they will enter the tournament in the playoff round.
Atalanta and Lazio will be appearing in Europa League this year, each entering at the group stage. AC Milan was the last club to earn a Europa League bid, and they will enter the dance in the third qualifying round.
Four managerial changes took place in the off-season, although many clubs made changes late in last year’s campaign.
Luciano Spalletti and Roma agreed to part ways, although the 58-year-old Italian native landed at Internazionale.
Eusebio Di Francesco has taken over for Spalletti in Roma, after leaving Sassuolo. Sassuolo went on to hire Christian Bucchi on June 20th, after coaching last year at Perugia.
Fiorentina is the last club to have a new face on the sidelines. Paulo Sousa’s contract ran out on June 6, and Stefano Pioli was hired immediately.
There was a good measure of player movement in this year’s off-season, with some surprises included. Leo Bonucci leaving Juventus raised some eyebrows, as he will now be captaining AC Milan. Dani Alves has also left the Juventus back-line, after accepting a lovely offer from Paris Saint-Germain of Ligue 1 in France.
Bonucci and Andre Silva became the top-two most expensive transfers in the off-season. Bonucci’s transfer to Milan was for €40M, while Silva’s transfer fee was €38M. Oh, did I mention that Andre Silva is only 21 years old, and has never played outside of Portugal? That might present quite the learning curve, despite some of his International duty with the Portuguese National Team. He has also played with Porto the last two campaigns, scoring 17 goals along the way. Youth is nice, however, so we will see what plans manager Vincenzo Montella has for the youngster in Lega Calcio.
Inter Milan has the next three highest transfers for players to join their club this year. Matias Vecino was just signed with a transfer fee of €24M, while Milan Skriniar came over for €23M. Brazilian defender Dalbert had a transfer fee of €20M, and between them, one stands out to me. What the hell has Matias Vecino done to deserve such respect? In my opinion at least, I don’t see why anyone would go through that expense to bring him here. A couple of goals here and there, and not much of an intimidating force at midfield has me wondering plenty about that move.
Anyway, so here we are, and for me personally this is year 34 of following Lega Calcio. Since 1983, I have been in love with Italian football, and it has gotten me to where I am today. After seven years of hosting an Italian Football Radio Show, and 13 years of posting advice on the net, it’s nice to be known for something. Let’s throw in what I do in Serie B, Lega Pro and the Coppa Italia, and now I can really separate myself from anyone. I think I can find one of my first shows from Blogtalk, so let’s see… Italian Football Weekly
Indeed I can, and before that I was at Donbest giving Serie A and Serie B advice back to 2009. It sure is fun when you can show people all the stuff you have done over the years. Enough about all that, because the Lega Calcio campaign is about to get underway. I want to discuss the odds on all the clubs to win the Scudetto, and break out opening weekend lines as well.
Do you think you can handle another year of Italian football with the Rainmaker? Well I will be here, and doing it all campaign long with gifts galore to share. There is this thing called ROI, and if you know one thing about me, it’s all about the ROI for me. You will not see me floating around plays in the -150’s or even the -140’s, because homey don’t play that! In fact, since I have been tracking plays at numerous services, my average odds per bet is right at -102… damn close to even money per bet. I offer plenty of plus money lines, and I am all about value.
Let’s not waste any more time, and get to the odds to win the Lega Calcio Scudetto in 2017/18.
Juventus -150
Napoli +474
AC Milan +650
AS Roma +1000
Inter Milan +1100
Lazio +6600
Fiorentina +10000
Atalanta +30000 (+2500)
Torino +50000 (+3300)
Udinese +75000 (+1000)
Bologna +100000 (+300)
Genoa +100000 (+800)
Sassuolo +100000 (+2000)
Sampdoria +100000 (+700)
Cagliari +200000 (+275)
Chievo Verona +200000 (+450)
Hellas Verona +200000 (+200)
Crotone +250000 (-110)
Spal +250000 (-165)
Benevento +250000 (-225)
I am putting the lines to be demoted in parenthesis as well. Those can be found at bet365, and it shows Benevento (-225) as the club most likely bouncing back to Serie B after this season.
Of course, these lines can vary from site to site and day to day, but everything looks about right. Juventus is clearly favored to take home title number 7 in succession, after winning the domestic double last season. Juventus won both the Serie A title and the Coppa Italia, and fell just short of earning a European treble. Real Madrid got in the way of those plans, however, and went on to take the Champions League title, keeping Juventus from winning three trophies last campaign.
The 2017/18 Coppa Italia has already gotten underway. In fact, a chunk of Serie A clubs competed in last weekend’s third round. The only club to fall to a lesser opponent was Bologna, who got beat down 3 – 0 by Cittadella. An early red card for Bologna set the tone, and Citta took full advantage of it. The next round of Italian Cup matches being played will come on November 29, that being round 4 of the competition.
The Serie B campaign is set to start on August 25 with one game featuring Parma vs Cremonese. All of the other matches from the opening round will be played on the 26th.
Two matches open the Serie A season on August 19, with Juventus hosting the first fixture of the year against Cagliari in Turin. Hellas Verona will host Napoli in the second match on Saturday, while eight fixtures round out the weekend on the 20th. We need lines to play with, so I hope you are familiar with my format. I have doing the same thing for years, and it simply makes sense to anyone who regularly reads the lines.
First I list the game lines, as in Win Draw Win (Home -Draw – Away), commonly referred to as the 3-Way offer.
Then I list the handicap/spread lines, as in +0.5 or -1 for example, and then come the totals. Please note I use the official total listed for the match, not just a standard 2.5 total for every game.
Also, when I give out suggested plays, I don’t list monetary amounts for anyone to bet with. I leave how much you bet up to you, because it’s your bankroll to work with. Please just use my suggested bets, and know that I play them each at the same amount.
There are no accumulators, parlays, or strength of plays involved here. Make one play, or play them all, use them how you see fit.
With that said, are you ready? I mean I am so damn ready it’s ridiculous, so I hope someone out there feels the excitement. A new campaign is just so cool, and everyone has such high hopes, only to have most of them dashed anyway!
With all of that said, we go to the board.
Saturday, August 19 – 2 Matches
Juventus vs Cagliari
3-Way 1×2 Lines
Juventus -700
Draw +650
Cagliari +1800
Handicap/Spread
Juventus -2 -110
Cagliari +2 -110
Total 3:
Over -105
Under -105
Hellas Verona vs Napoli
Verona +700
Draw +350
Napoli -250
Verona +1.5 -145
Napoli -1.5 +125
Total 3:
Over +105
Under -115
Sunday, August 20 – 8 Matches
Atalanta vs AS Roma
Atalanta +225
Draw +240
Roma +120
Atalanta +0.5 -135
Roma -0.5 -120
Total 2.5:
Over -125
Under +105
Bologna vs Torino
Bologna +220
Draw +220
Torino +125
Bologna +0.5 -145
Torino -0.5 +125
Total 2.5:
Over +110
Under -120
Crotone vs AC Milan
Crotone +470
Draw +300
Milan -170
Crotone +1 -110
Milan -1 -110
Total 2.5:
Over -125
Under +105
Inter Milan vs Fiorentina
Inter -165
Draw +290
Fiorentina +500
Inter -1 -110
Fiorentina +1 -110
Total 2.5:
Over -125
Under +105
Lazio vs Spal
Lazio -345
Draw +425
Spal +950
Lazio -1.5 -105
Spal +1.5 -105
Total 2.5:
Over -135
Under +115
Sampdoria vs Benevento
Sampdoria -150
Draw +265
Benevento +450
Sampdoria -1 +120
Benevento +1 -140
Total 2.5:
Over +100
Under -120
Sassuolo vs Genoa
Sassuolo +115
Draw +225
Genoa +225
Sassuolo -0.5 +115
Genoa +0.5 -135
Total 2.5:
Over -105
Under -105
Udinese vs Chievo Verona
Udinese +110
Draw +225
Chievo +265
Udinese -0.5 +110
Chievo +0.5 -130
Total 2.5:
Over +115
Under -135
As I mentioned previously, Juventus plays host to Cagliari to open the 2017/18 Lega Calcio campaign. I just watched Cagliari play Palermo last weekend in the Coppa Italia. For those who follow my tracker, you see I took Palermo +1 in that contest, and they drew 1 – 1 and went to penalties. Cagliari won 4 – 2 in the shootout and found a way to move on, but it wasn’t impressive. Palermo and Cagliari certainly have a history, but nonetheless, Juventus is not Palermo.
I am not a big fan of those lines, with Juventus at -2 on the handicap, and 3 on the total. Not touching it!
In the second Saturday match, Hellas Verona returns to Serie A, but with what? Alessio Cerci is supposed to be the guy up front who produces with Pazzini? I mean really? That’s what you expect to compete with in top flight Lega Calcio? Since I just used the term impressive, let’s say I am not impressed with Verona’s plan.
It’s going to take more than Pazzini and Cerci to convince me that Verona will be a threat to anyone.
Now throw in that Napoli is coming to town to open this year’s campaign. I know they brought over Daniele Verde on loan from Roma, but he’s just a full-time Serie B player through his career. And please don’t tell me you expect Mohamed Fares to have an influence on anything!
I am not the biggest fan of laying -1.5 chalk on away clubs, but I got Napoli… and YOU DON’T! That’s my way of saying, “Either follow me and lay Napoli -1.5 at +125, or you think of your own play to make! I got mine, and the first play of the Lega Calcio campaign goes to …
Suggested Play:
Napoli -1.5 Handicap @ +125 vs Hellas Verona
I like the fact that Napoli just opened their Champions League campaign this week as well. Essentially, that means that Napoli will be playing three matches in seven days. Napoli heads to Nice for the return leg of their Champions League qualifying draw.
Moving to the 8-match Sunday slate, we gots ourselves some nice user-friendly lines to utilize. Furthermore, I have some plays sought out, and I start with a rant.
Well, would you look at that! Roma hits the road up to Bergamo to take on Atalanta. Finally! I just want to scream Finally! Finally, I can not have to mention or wonder if Mr. Totti is playing anymore. We all know I have been a AS Roma fan since 1983, and these last 3 years of madness can finally be put to rest. GRAZIE! CIAO!
Hey listen, I loved Francesco Totti more than words can say for years of my life. I almost want to compare how he went out, to the way Derek Jeter ended his career. Both held on a little too long, in my opinion at least, and it became a bit of a circus at times. I didn’t enjoy how it ended, but I am glad it is over with.
The loss of Mohamed Salah is my biggest concern. We all know Eden led Serie A with 29 goals last campaign, but let’s not lose track of what Salah meant to this offense! He has already scored for Liverpool in their new Premier League campaign that just opened last weekend.
Now that I am already hitting the 2,000-word mark for this piece, I will be short with my AS Roma opinions. When you have followed a club for 30+ years, and just are not looking forward to this year? That’s how I feel for us, because I don’t expect La Maggica to provide all that much magic this season. Sorry, again, just my opinion, but I don’t feel enough was addressed in the off-season, to make up for who has left.
With another + money play going on the board, I see value in the DNB for the home side. Did you follow any of my articles last year? Atalanta figured how to score, after years of futility in that department. That is why they are also headed directly to Europa League group stage this campaign.
Now Roma is favored away from home, with that lineup? No thanks!
Suggested Play:
Atalanta 0/Pk Draw no Bet @ +135 vs AS Roma
I mentioned SPAL returning to top flight Lega Calcio for this year’s campaign. Assignment #1 becomes opening their season in Rome, to face Lazio. Oh will that be fun for them, because if they put Alfred Gomis in net again, as they did this weekend in the Coppa Italia? Oh let me tell you how that is going to work out! In fact, let’s keep this one simple, and get right to the point.
Suggested Play:
Lazio vs SPAL ~ Total Goals Over 3 @ +115
Yeah, you read that right. Move it to 3, because the Over 2.5 has no value to me at -135.
I also previously mentioned how much money Internazionale spent in the off-season. Three of the top five highest paid transfers came from Inter Milan. What is that about, because you read that I am not all that impressed with what they spent for what they got?
Now, the Fiorentina manager Stefano Pioli gets to go back where he was last campaign. This time he will be on the Fiorentina sidelines, so that might be strange. Of course, Pioli has a long history as a player for the Viola. He spent a nice chunk of time with Fiorentina as a centre back, so I assume he will enjoy this weekend.
I am not really convinced that we will see much scoring, although I think Eder will have a nice campaign in his first full season with Inter. Remember now, this is the last year of his 1.5 year loan, and options will open up for him should he put up some decent numbers. He could potentially be playing at the San Siro until 2020, in fact.
I smell a 1 – 1 contest coming here, although surely something could go astray. I am offering the +1 on Fiorentina, simply because of two reasons. The price is reasonable at -108 as I see it now, and I just don’t see Inter winning by two goals. To me, I have no issue laying a few bucks of juice to grab a +1 vs Inter, so…
Suggested Play:
Fiorentina +1 Handicap @ -108 vs Internazionale
Let me give you all a quick lesson about Benevento! I have two words for you to start with. Ceravolo & Ciciretti! It ain’t a damn law firm people, so look for those two to do all the damage up front for Benevento. Boy was it fun letting those two cash so many Serie B tickets for me last year. I expect most of the goals to come from those two, so should you. I expect one of them to score this weekend against Sampdoria, and I expect goals to be scored overall.
Two Suggested Plays:
Sampdoria vs Benevento ~ Total Goals Over 2.5 @ +100
Both Teams to Score ~ Yes @ -110
I am interested to see how Gigi Donnarumma feels about returning to AC Milan. I think a lot of us were expecting him to not be in Milan this campaign, or beyond. He got his contract through 2121, but will he fulfill it?
I really want to see how Bonucci adjusts to live after Juve, too. Walking out of Turin, saying that Allegri and he didn’t get along or something. Whatever man, shut up and win rings dude! Leaving Juventus in the midst of a six-year stretch of winning Scudettos? Really? You would have to drag me out of town in a box to get me to leave a club that constantly WINS TROPHIES!
I am not even a damn Juventus fan, but I don’t even get why he left, or how their fans feel. That’s quite the loss for Juventus, and really, his success was greatly helped by years of togetherness with that back line and, oh… GiGi Buffon in net. So we’ll see how ‘tremendous’ he really is now. Milan of all places!
Anyway, okay, I am maxed out of words to open the Lega Calcio campaign.
I wanted to discuss some other stuff, but over the course of the campaign I will have you covered.
I hope you are all enjoying Admir’s European football articles as well. He is covering all of the Champions and Europa League action during the opening qualifying rounds.
Also, please remember to check us out in the google store, and look for Get More Sports! We are on iOS and Adroid in the Apple Store as well, so HIT IT!
Remember too, that there is another football that takes place in the United States. We call it the NFL and College Football. Erik and I are once again hosting the NCAA Football Throwdown Podcast here at Get More Sports. All season long we will be giving out betting advice… because WE CAN!
In addition, Adam Greene and I am also hosting the inaugural GMS NFL Podcast this season. Fantasy advice, betting advice, and relationship advice! That’s right kids, when your #MoneyTreesGrow, your significant others seem to love you just a little more!
I’m out! As usual I say In Bocca Al Lupo! Enjoy the Lega Calcio campaign, and check with me for Serie B and Lega Pro action too! That’s for the real players out there!
Make It Rain! Ciao!
