Content Editor at Free Super Tips, Alex was born in the shadow of Old Trafford and is an avid Man Utd fan. After graduating from university he combined his love of football, writing and betting to join FST and now closely follows goings-on in all of the top European leagues.
Italian Serie A Winners Prediction
Juventus
Juventus gave their Serie A rivals a headstart with a poor start to the season last year, but Massimiliano Allegri’s men turned their form around in spectacular fashion and romped to a fifth successive league title by nine points in the end as Napoli’s challenge fell flat.
Even though star man Paul Pogba looks set to leave the club before the start of the season, Juve look like they will be extremely strong again this season after completing the £75 million purchase of Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli. While the fee for the 28-year-old Argentina international is extraordinarily large, Juventus needed a striker after Real Madrid exercised the buy-back clause they had on striker Alvaro Morata, who had enjoyed a successful two-year spell in Turin.
Buying Higuain also has the benefit of taking Napoli’s best player and captain, whose goals came so close to firing them to the title. Juve look set to compete on all fronts this season, including in the Champions League, with the signing of Miralem Pjanic set to add extra creativity to their midfield. Like the arrival of Higuain, buying Pjanic from Roma has the advantage of weakening another rival, Roma, who showed fantastic form in fits and starts last season, although they ended up finishing 11 points behind the champions.
Even at a low price of 1/2 with bet365, it is hard to see Juventus not winning the title yet again, which would make it six in a row and confirm this is an era of dominance for the club.
Italian Serie A Winners Prediction (without Juventus)
Roma
Roma can be backed at 6/1 with Betfair, but spending in excess of £80 million on new players will not cancel out the massive loss of Pjanic. Gerson, Mohamed Salah and Stephan El Shaarawy have all been signed for fees in excess of £10 million, while Edin Dzeko has signed permanently from Manchester City after a loan spell at Roma.
Coach Luciano Spalletti knows how to get the most out of Roma, however, while the arrival of Antonio Rudiger should significantly strengthen them at the back.
Napoli’s main signing of the summer so far has been the centre-back Lorenzo Tonelli, snapped up from Torino, although major moves are expected in the coming weeks as they look to spend the Higuain bounty. Odds of 7/1 with bet365 on Napoli to win the league is a sign that the sale of Higuain is set to leave Napoli much weaker this year.
Neither Milan club have invested significantly in the off-season, while Fiorentina have signed Davide Astori to improve their defence, but La Viola fell away badly in the second half of last year.
Italian Serie A Top 3 Finish Betting Tips
Lazio
Lazio could be the best of the rest, with Ciro Immobile looking to be an astute buy from Sevilla, while left-back Jordan Lukaku and centre-back Wallace have been bought to strengthen their back line. Antonio Candreva could be sold before the start of the season however – Napoli are interested in buying the winger – while Felipe Anderson could miss the first few games of the season as he is on international duty at the Olympic Games.
Odds of 12/1 with bet365 are worth considering for Lazio to finish in the top three, although it looks likely the top three will be the same as last year.
Italian Serie A Relegation Betting Tips
Crotone
Newly promoted Crotone are the clear favourites to be relegated from Serie A this year. With the loss of striker Ante Budimir to Sampdoria, robbing the minnows of their primary goal threat, we can’t see them staying in the division.
Pescara
Pescara also look set for a season of struggle on their return to the Italian top-flight, with AC Milan snapping up Gianluca Lapadula and Gianluca Caprari moving to AC Milan. They are 11/10 with bet365 for the drop, with Crotone at 4/7 with bet365 to be relegated.
Selling Tonelli has contributed to Empoli being named among the favourites for relegation, offered at 9/4 to fall into Serie B, while Palermo – whose off-the-field issues included several changes of coach last year – are at 2/1. The instability of Palermo make them a solid choice in this market, although they seem to be more stable right now.
Udinese
The 9/2 with bet365 on Udinese to be relegated also appeals given they finished only a point and a place above Carpi, who took the last relegation slot last season.
Perhaps the best value bet of the season will be in the Serie A winner without Juventus market, with Roma and Napoli set to battle it out for second place again. Higuain’s absence coupled with Roma’s squad strengthening means the 6/4 with bet365 on Roma to win the league without Juventus looks to be an outstanding price.
Italian Serie A Top Goalscorer Prediction
Gonzalo Higuain
Higuain won the top goalscorer prize easily last year and after moving to Juventus it is no surprise he is a strong favourite to defend his title. A price of 2/5 does not provide especially good value, but with Serie A appearing to lack top-class forwards at the moment, there are few obvious alternatives.
Outside Chance
Carlos Bacca
A value selection in this market, possibly for an each-way bet, could be Carlos Bacca. Bacca hit 18 goals for AC Milan last season despite their inability to compete at the top of the table and the Colombia international will be aiming to improve that tally this year.
