It’s a question which begs to be answered.
It may be week 24 in Serie A, but there are lots of football games still to be played.
But would any realistic sports betting fan wager on anything but a record 33rd Italian championship for Juventus?
Would you realistically bet online on anything other than the bottom three clubs going down?
It would take a brave punter to do so!
WEEK 24 SATURDAY:
Napoli vs Genoa
Certainly, these two clubs probably do not have to worry about either option.
Napoli are too far adrift to likely push Juventus as they did last season, whereas Genoa have some wriggle room between themselves and the bottom three.
The Naples boys went goal crazy in their last outing with Marek Hamsik and Dries Mertens both netting hat-tricks – the former becoming the first Slovenian to achieve that feat in the Italian top flight.
WEEK 24 SUNDAY:
Fiorentina vs Udinese
While Udinese were battling out a mid-table goalless draw with Chievo, the Viola were having a night to forget.
A 4-0 drubbing at Roma won’t be forgotten in a hurry and manager Paulo Sousa will want an immediate response.
The Tuscans will first need to wipe out a series of defensive errors that Roma brutally exploited.
Crotone vs Roma
Talking of Roma, they have a 100 per cent home record in Serie A.
But they will likely need a near 100 per cent away record between now and the end of the campaign as well if they are to close in on Juventus.
This will be an interesting fixture to compare the top two, just four days after spirited strugglers Crotone held Juventus for an hour before losing 2-0.
Inter Milan vs Empoli
Inter still harbour hopes of a top-three finish despite their run of seven successive victories coming to an end at Juve last weekend.
They will have to make do without Ivan Perisic for this one: he was shown a second yellow card for dissent in Turin.
They’ll prefer to score from open play, however, as Empoli goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski has saved two penalties so far this term.
Palermo vs Atalanta
After one draw and nine defeats at the Stadio Barbera, Palermo finally celebrated their first home win of the season last weekend.
It was enough to leapfrog Crotone, even if they remain eight points from safety.
Sixth-place Atalanta won’t want to follow Crotone’s fate and with the goals of Alejandro Gomez, they can even afford to dream of Champions League qualification right now.
Sassuolo vs Chievo
That this fixture doesn’t set the pulse racing is actually a credit to both clubs who are overachieving and comfortable in mid-table.
Sassuolo may be having a mini injury crisis, but they have still won three in four.
Chievo will be without Bostjan Cesar after his dismissal last weekend.
Torino vs Pescara
Pescara may have run their last race if they can’t swiftly turn around a run of results which has seen them lose five in a row and take one point from a possible 18.
Their 6-2 home humbling by Lazio was embarrassing, although at least showed they have some character, clawing back a two-goal deficit before their second half collapse.
Torino look destined for a ninth-place finish unless they can move up a notch.
WEEK 24 MONDAY:
Sampdoria vs Bologna
Sampdoria are the side most likely to leapfrog Torino and will be in a confident mood as they welcome Bologna.
Their 1-0 victory in Milan has lifted a club who had failed to win away since August 21 until Luis Muriel scored his 40th Serie A goal to silence the San Siro.
After their 7-1 thrashing by Napoli was followed by a midweek reverse at home to nine-man Milan, Bologna boss Roberto Donadoni admits it’s been a ‘nightmare scenario’ over the last few days.
Cagliari vs Juventus
Four clean sheets in five is an impressive record for the reigning champions to take to Cagliari.
It’s the last match the hosts would have wanted as they seriously need to improve in front of goal, especially away from home where they have failed to score in 426 minutes of football.
Equally, they failed to recover from conceding an early goal at Atalanta and can ill afford the same again against Max Allegri’s side.
WEEK 24 TUESDAY:
Lazio vs AC Milan
The match of the week which means the Serie A fixture chiefs really are saving the best till last.
Fourth hosts seventh with just six points separating the two sides.
This fixture brings back memories of the early 1990s to me when such luminaries as Marco van Basten, Paul Gascoigne, and Ruud Gullit were involved.
The names may have changed but the goals keep on coming – particularly for Marco Parolo who has scored five times in clashes against Milan.
He’s also on fire after his four-goal haul in their 6-2 win at Pescara as Lazio enjoy their most prolific campaign since 2001.
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