Football betting analyst Mark O’Haire is keeping his top weekend selections exclusively in Italy kicking off with Juventus’s must-win tie at home to the champions!
The Derby D’Italia is normally one of the standout fixtures of the season in Italy. But with Inter already securing the Scudetto, Saturday night’s renewal has lost a little bit of its usual lustre.
Nevertheless, there’s still an angle worth pursuing ahead of the Turin tussle.
Nerazzurri boss Antonio Conte said his players will continue to ‘honour the championship’ in the aftermath of reclaiming their Serie A crown and that suggestion rang true on Wednesday night as the table-toppers notched a 15th consecutive home league success to dispatch Roma comfortably 3-1 at San Siro.
Outsiders may suggest Inter are purely now playing for pride yet those within the camp will be highly motivated to put on a show this weekend, knowing the club can thwart one of their oldest and fiercest rivals.
This is an opportunity for the Nerazzurri (and Conte) to inflict further damage on a wounded Juventus side’s quest for a top-four finish.
Inter may be in celebration mode but Mark expects them to pitch up in Turin on Saturday night!
Odds-makers have eased Inter in the pre-match markets here with fallen titans Juventus getting all the attention.
The visitors haven’t been bigger than 2.55 all season, yet have been chalked up as 3.30 outsiders for the Allianz Stadium encounter – that’s an Inter team with only two league defeats to their name with a deep desire to impress.
It’s price-driven purely by motivation and requirement – Juventus desperate for maximum points after surrendering their position in the top-four, whilst Inter could be considered to be in celebration mode. The reality is, the Nerazzurri comfortably turned the Old Lady over in the reverse, have been beaten just once since January, and this match matters. A lot.
So I’m attracted to the generous 1.73 available on Inter with a +0.50 Asian Handicap start, knowing money will be made should the guests avoid defeat.
It’s been tough sledding for Juve this season.
Juventus have been going off at artificially short prices regularly recently and rarely impressing. Only last week the Bianconeri produced a shocking display as Milan ran out 3-0 winners here, whilst their midweek victory at Sassuolo was nowhere near as eye-catching as the final score implied. That success was only Juve’s fifth in 10 outings of late (W5-D2-L3).
Against the league’s elite (top-six rivals), the hosts have tabled three triumphs in nine and Juventus just look too short to support at current quotes.
Novice coach Andrea Pirlo looks set to leave his role in the summer and rumours of infractions within the camp are rife – Inter have the ability to at least pick up a share of the spoils on Saturday.
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Sassuolo supremo Roberto De Zerbi appears bound for Shakhtar Donetsk in the summer but the talented head coach can sign-off in style by guiding the Neroverdi back to continental competition next term.
The Emilia-Romagna outfit are two points behind Roma with two games to play and need to finish seventh to secure qualification to the Europa Conference. That remains the aim according to De Zerbi despite their midweek defeat at home to Juventus.
Sassuolo impressed for large swathes of Wednesday evening’s encounter, missing an early penalty, and coughing up numerous presentable opportunities, but should be backed to return to winning ways when they travel to already-relegated Parma on Sunday.
Outgoing coach Roberto De Zerbi will hope to leave his side in a European spot come seasons end.
The Neroverdi were Italy’s form side coming into midweek, picking up 19 points from a possible 21, and the visitors have been particularly proficient when facing off against Serie A’s lesser lights.
Sassuolo have earned seven victories from 11 at teams below them in the standings, notching 22 goals in that sequence to suggest they’ll prove too strong here.
Parma were downed in stoppage-time against Lazio on Wednesday, the club’s seventh straight reverse. Further back, the home side have been beaten in 18 of their last 24 league outings, conceding multiple goals on 20 occasions. Il Crociati own the league’s worst home record (W2-D5-L11), shipping at least two goals in 13 of those 18 tussles at the Tardini.
Cash has come for Sassuolo this midweek but supporting the guests with a -0.75 Asian Handicap hurdle still appeals at general 1.78 quotes, knowing we’ll earn profit should the Neroverdi succeed.
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