TFT Issue 330!
FreeHowdy guys and girls!
Featured game
Bologna vs Juventus – both sides to score at 10/11.
Today’s featured game is the Serie A game between Bologna and giants Juventus. Juventus have had a great season and Bologna are playing well right now so I expect an interesting game here.
Despite being outclassed by Udinese lately, Bologna have really impressed me since the turn of the year. The fact that their defeat against Udinese was their only defeat of 2012 speaks volumes about how well Bologna are actually playing. The side has gained a lot of confidence from positive results and their potency has largely increased too, which obviously helps them out a lot.
Defensively, Bologna are very tight at home – it takes a good side to score against them here. However, they’re not infallible, hence them generally battling relegation each year. Nonetheless, they’re one of the hardest sides in Italy to face away from home, for my money, and their recent stentorian displays have indicated that very well indeed. Bologna have kept four clean sheets from their last five home games so don’t underestimate this side! However, they have conceded when they’ve taken on both SSC Napoli and AS Roma respectively but each time claiming a respectable 1-1 draw from difficult away games. Bologna will make this game very hard for Juventus, in my view, and I certainly wouldn’t bet against them getting a positive result. Uruguayan attacker Ramirez is under the watchful eyes of Juventus scouts, if we are to believe the media, but he’s not the only Bologna played with attacking talent and the fact that Bologna have only failed to score in two out of their last nine games backs that point up.
I watched Bologna host Novara recently and it was demolition, basically. Had it not been for a missed penalty in the first-half then Bologna would most likely have won the game much more easily than they did. Nonetheless, they were completely in control and they do have powerful attacking players that can and will punish sides.
Juventus are a bigger and better side than Bologna but they’re not ideally placed to do well here – far from it, in fact. Their defence is a mess with battleaxe Chiellini out and strong Barzagli joining him on the sidelines. God only knows what Conte is going to do with that defence – it already scares me when De Ceglie plays so I’m going to be surprised to see Juventus keep a clean sheet here, irrespective of their protective and energetic midfield.
Nonetheless, Juventus do have the offensive power to shatter a stubborn Bologna defence. Despite not being particularly prolific of late, Juventus have only failed to score in two games in 2012 so you can see their offensive power. You really don’t need me to introduce any of their attacking threats, either! Juventus usually find a way through defences, one way or another, and I expect that to occur here too.
Will they win, though? They need to but I’m not sure that they will. Bologna are in a great run of form right now and all sides have struggled against them lately. There are some very underrated Bologna players and perhaps a few overrated Juventus players. Buffon is a terrific goalkeeper but he needs help at the back and with both Chiellini and Barzagli absent, I don’t see where that help is coming from. I think Bologna, as a solid counter-attacking side, can and will score here.
I find some value in laying Juventus but not enough to take it on when compared to the odds. However, taking both sides to score with the above in mind interests me a lot at 10/11 in a game that could potentially reveal an awful lot about the Serie A title race this season as Juventus cannot afford to slip-up here.
Verdict: Both sides to score at 10/11.
Team news
UEFA Champions League:
Barcelona – Villa, Afellay, Abidal, Sanchez, and Thiago are absent. Messi and Busquets return.
English Championship:
Brighton & Hove Albion – Painter, Dicker, Rodriguez, and Elphick are absent.
Cardiff City – Gestede and McPhail are absent.
West Ham United – Diop, Carew, and Piquionne are absent. Reid is a doubt.
Watford – Taylor, McGinn, Jenkins, and Massey are absent.
Greek Super League:
Doxa Dramas – Roka, Soiledis, and Tripotseris are absent.
PAS Giannina – Vanderson and Skoufalis are absent. Zambrela is a doubt.
Kerkyra – Erithe is absent.
Levadiakos – No absentees.
Italian Serie A:
Cesena – Von Bergen is absent.
Catania – Potenza and Campagnolo are absent. Almiron and Legrottaglie are doubts.
Parma – Floccari, Gobbi, Ferrario, Palladino, and Musacci are absent. Marques is a doubt.
Fiorentina – Kroldrup, Jovetic, Ljajic, Salifu, and Oliveira are absent.
Bologna – Antonsson and Loria are absent.
Juventus – Chiellini and Barzagli are absent.