Serie A Tips: A Derby d'Italia Deadlock

The first Derby d’Italia of the new season takes place on Sunday and Enzo has two bets for the big one along with a selection for the clash of Monza and Verona

Monza v Hellas Verona

Sun 6th Nov 14:00

Two sides that are struggling near the foot of the table meet on Sunday afternoon at the Stadio Brianteo in what should be a tightly contested game. Monza’s 10 point haul all came during a four game unbeaten streak which began in mid- September but since then they have failed to pick up a single point from three attempts.

Verona find themselves in a worse position than their opponents and are second from bottom with just 5 points. Replacing manager Gabrielle Cioffi with Salvatore Bocchetti so far has not had the desired effect and Hellas are winless in their last seven (W0 D0 L7).

Apart from losing, the only thing that has been fairly consistent about these two teams is goals. Verona’s five most recent fixtures have seen over 2.5 match goals and three of Monza’s have also topped the mark. It is therefore a little surprising to see over 2.5 goals @ 10/11 which seems like a very generous offer.

Juventus v Inter Milan

Sun 6th Nov 19:45

The first Derby d’Italia of 2022/23 is upon us and it comes at a time when Inter and Juventus are undergoing their worst Serie A starts in years. Sitting in 6th and 7th, only two points separate the giants who have been a shadow of their former selves of late. That being said, both have begun to string some decent league form together. Juve have won their last three in a row and Inter their last four. Of those games, neither side have faced a team inside the top eight so it is still difficult to decisively say the worst is behind them.

At the weekend, Inter made light work of dispatching Sampdoria whereas it took a fabulous Fagioli curler for Juve, who huffed and puffed for 90mins, to overcome Lecce 1-0. To be fair to the Bianconeri, they were without Vlahovic, Bremer and Danilo all of whom will be available again for selection. Di Maria also returns but will most likely start on the bench. With an almost full strength panel to choose from, I fancy Juve to put on a better showing than what we have grown accustomed too. However, a victory might be asking too much and a draw @ 9/4 looks like the most probable outcome.

I rarely give two selections for the same game but this time I am going to break that rule and dip my toe into the anytime scorer market. If you can make one criticism of Nicolo Barella it is that he doesn’t contribute enough in terms of goals. However, the mezalla is currently enjoying his best ever scoring season in an Inter shirt. Barella has netted five times in the league including three in his last three so to see him available at a whopping 8/1 to score anytime with Bet 365 boggles the mind. Without a shadow of a doubt, Nicolo Barella anytime goalscorer @ 8/1 is my final Serie A bet for the week.