Italian Serie A No.10 - 4 & 5th Nov
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Toni to miss Roma match
Fiorentina goal ace Luca Toni will miss Sundays late Serie A kick off against Roma with a foot problem.
The marksman - currently in a rich vein of form - has been suffering from the injury for the last few days, and doctors have advised him to rest for a period of between seven and ten days.
The news comes as a massive blow to Viola coach Cesare Prandelli who was counting on Tonis eye for goal in the weekends crunch game against the Giallorossi.
Romanian hitman Adrian Mutu is set to step up and assume the mantle of Fiorentinas main striker. -
Siena hoping to continue good form
Few could have anticipated that Siena, who narrowly avoided the drop last season, would enjoy such a fine start to this Serie A campaign. Last weekends 1-0 triumph at Ascoli saw the Tuscan outfit climb to fourth in the standings after nine games. And they now go into Saturdays encounter against Parma in confident mood having gone seven league matches without defeat.
With neighbours Fiorentina occupying the lower positions in the standings following their match-fixing punishment, Siena have ensured that Tuscan football is still a force to be reckoned with. "Theres a great enthusiasm in Siena and its fantastic," said coach Mario Beretta. "Weve had a great start so far and we are playing well, but we must be realistic."
Beretta needs no reminder there is still a long way to go before his team can celebrate. He managed to guide Parma to safety last season but it was an endless battle before joining Siena in the summer. "Our main aim is to avoid the drop," said Beretta. "Right now, I only look at how many points we are clear of the bottom three."
With a 13-point advantage over 18th placed Chievo and his team only suffering one defeat this season, against Roma, Beretta can rest easy. However, it is a different ball game altogether for Parma coach Stefano Pioli. The Ducale club have struggled to show any kind of continuity this season and lie a lowly 16th in the standings, five points clear of the relegation zone.
Yet things are slowly getting better and last weekends 3-1 win against Atalanta marked their second triumph of the campaign. "This is a very important victory for us," said coach Pioli. "After our defeat against Reggina we really needed to show our quality. We wanted to climb up the table and we have done so."
The Gialloblu will nevertheless be wary of Saturdays clash at the Artemio Franchi stadium. Piolis men showed an improvement against Atalanta but they are still a long way away from their best. They have the worst defence in the league after conceding 18 goals in their opening nine games and have yet to win on the road after four failed attempts.
"My players must show the same concentration against Siena that we showed against Parma," said Pioli. "We really need to go on a positive run which will help us get our confidence back." The visitors welcome the return of defender Matteo Contini from suspension, while Siena boss Beretta has duo Daniele Portanova and Francesco Cozza available again, both having brushed aside their respective injuries. Striker Daniele Corvia is unavailable for the home side as he serves a one-match ban.[/b] -
Reggina hoping to reach zero points against Catania
Reggina will have another incentive to beat Catania on Saturday as they aim to finally move into the black after the match-fixing scandal. A win against the Sicilian minnows would see the southerners get back on level terms, having already cleared 12 of their 15-point penalty handed by the Italian Football Federation in the summer. With the Amaranto having yet to find out the outcome of their appeal verdict on match-fixing, Walter Mazzarris men are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
"We are doing well and we are in the right condition to be able to get to zero points this weekend," said Reggina defender Salvatore Aronica. "This will be an important achievement for us in our fight to avoid relegation, which remains our aim this season." The Amaranto have enjoyed a good run of late, having earned a valuable point at Lazio last weekend to follow their triumph over Parma.
However, they are well aware their fight for survival hasnt even started, as they are still bottom and seven points away from safety. "I think we have had a good start to the campaign," said Mazzarri. "But we have so much work to do and we cannot be obsessed with our current position in the standings. The team is playing well and, in our nine games we have only struggled against Fiorentina."
Rivals Catania are aware of the threat Reggina pose as they have yet to concede their first defeat on home soil. Reggina have taken 10 of a possible 12 points at the Granillo Stadium and will be keen to maintain their unbeaten run this weekend. "We must make use of our strength when playing at home," said Aronica. "With the support of our fans, we must play a good game defensively and hit Catania on the counter attack."
The Sicilian minnows travel to the mainland knowing they will have to be at their best if they wish to clinch their second victory on the road. Pasquale Marinos men have taken five points from their previous three games to see them climb to 11th position in the table. They fought hard against Torino to earn a point having had to play in numerical inferiority for most of the second half following striker Giuseppe Mascaras sending off.
"Its a pity that we conceded a goal in the last minute," said Marino. "We defended well and we should have taken three points." One consolation for Marino is that Catania are showing signs of improvement, conceding just two goals in their past two games. Marino will hope his players can maintain their defensive focus in Reggio Calabria having given away a whopping 11 goals in five games on the road, - the worst record in Serie A.
The hosts welcome back midfielder Giacomo Tedesco and defender Maurizio Lanzaro from suspension while striker Julio Leon is still doubtful through injury. Catania striker Giorgio Corona will replace Giuseppe Mascara, who has served his first game of a two-match ban.[/b] -
sienaOriginally posted by anhydrouscoppersulphate:
draw
draw
cagliari
draw
inter
udinese
palermo
draw
roma -
Siena [2 - 2] Parma
35' [0 - 1] D. Morfeo
70' [0 - 2] I. Budan
77' [1 - 2] E. Bogdani
90' [2 - 2] E. Bogdani -
Reggina [0 - 1] Catania
69' [0 - 1] G. Corona -
12' Atalanta 0 - 0 AC Milan
12' Chievo 0 - 0 Cagliari
12' Empoli 0 - 0 Lazio
12' Inter Milan 0 - 0 Ascoli
12' Livorno 0 - 0 Udinese
12' Palermo 0 - 0 Sampdoria
12' Torino 0 - 0 Messina
AS Roma vs Fiorentina -
Guidolin wants more at home from Palermo
Francesco Guidolin has urged Palermo to improve their home record, starting from tonights tough clash with Sampdoria. “The Blucerchiati are an excellent squad,” he assured. “They’re motivated, strong, have a good Coach and players of real quality.”
The Sicilians may be sitting pretty on top of the Serie A table alongside Inter, but their midweek UEFA Cup defeat to Newcastle United highlighted a curious trend – in all competitions this season they’ve won six out of seven away games, but earned just four victories and two defeats at the Barbera.
“We dive back into the Serie A adventure after the UEFA Cup loss. Both sides have important reasons to do well. Samp are more accustomed to battling for the top spots than we are, while Walter Novellino has everything needed to make this another memorable campaign.”
Amauri is Cup-tied due to his Champions League experience with Chievo, so he skipped the Newcastle clash and returns following his brace against Fiorentina. “I’ll have to do without Aimo Diana, Ciro Capuano and Federico Agliardi, but we’ll try to do our best so they won’t be missed.”
Palermo squad: Alberto Fontana, Salvatore Sirigu; Andrea Barzagli, Giuseppe Biava, Cesare Bovo, Mattia Cassani, Paolo Hernan Dellafiore, Marco Pisano, Christian Zaccardo; Mark Bresciano, Eugenio Corini, Roberto Guana, Gianni Munari, Francesco Parravicini, Fabio Henrique Simplicio, Giovanni Tedesco; Amauri Carvalho de Oliveira, Franco Brienza, Andrea Caracciolo, David Di Michele -
Mancini warns Inter not to underestimate struggling Ascoli
Ascoli are without a single win this season, but Roberto Mancini warns that Inter cannot afford to underestimate them. “We’ve had two important victories against Milan and Spartak Moscow, but those are in the past now. It would be a terrible mistake to underestimate Ascoli,” said the Coach.
The Nerazzurri are joint top of the Serie A table along with Palermo and back in the running for Champions League qualification, but have shown an alarming tendency to re-open matches that seemed to be secure. “Ascoli are not a easy task after our recent fixtures. Don’t forget they were winning 2-1 away to Roma until the 91st minute, had a perfectly good goal disallowed in Udine and lost at Parma despite playing very well. They’re better on their travels than at home, so we must be wary.”
Inter have been far more convincing of late and Mancini insists results aren’t the only judge of their form. “We’ve always had our own identity, it’s just that unfortunately you can’t win all the time, even if you deserve to. There are always areas you can improve on, even in the best performances.” The San Siro giants have been particularly impressive since Adriano went to Brazil for a period of rest and recuperation. He returned to the Pinetina training ground on Saturday and was assured he won’t be sold in January if he doesn’t rediscover his form.
“Adriano and I had agreed on the date he’d leave for Brazil and when he’d return. He was on time and always tries to give his best in training. Sometimes he manages, sometimes he doesn’t, but that’s true of all players. Adriano is a professional and he had a moment of difficulty, but now we hope he can get over it quickly. When he’s in good shape, he’ll play and will be very useful for this side.”
Ascoli boss Attilio Tesser is hanging on to his job by a thread and still without a victory, though he’s not going to let it affect his confidence. “We’re going into a difficult game, but that doesn’t mean we’re already defeated before we’ve started,” insisted the tactician. -
Empoli [0 - 1] Lazio
17' [0 - 1] G. Pandev -
Delio Rossi calls for more width from Lazio
Delio Rossi believes the reason for Lazio’s poor form lies in the lack of wide men at his disposal, prompting a tactical rethink to face Empoli. “I expect to see an improvement, but we can’t talk about this game as a turning point, as that has to happen every weekend, not just at the Stadio Castellani,” said the Coach.
The Biancocelesti have struggled recently with just two points from their last four games, although the Calciopoli reduction of their 11-point penalty to just three proved invaluable in pushing them up the standings. “The trouble is that we’re missing width at the moment. Stephen Makinwa and Pasquale Foggia are still recovering from long-term injuries and Valon Behrami is out.
“Alberto Quadri is an interesting player we signed from Inter in the Cesar Aparecido transfer. He’s still young, but has quality and is more attacking than defensive.” Rossi hinted at a tactical change to make up for the absences, putting 23-year-old Quadri behind the front two, creating a midfield of Stefano Mauri, Massimo Mutarelli and Gaby Mudingayi, thereby leaving more space for fullbacks Luciano Zauri and Massimo Oddo to push forward.
It has been another tense week in the capital, as the investigation into financial irregularities saw the police confiscate 14.61 per cent of Lazio’s shares. “We always seem to end up dealing with matters outside of the football world. I can only acknowledge the event and keep working, as I don’t even know quite what happened, every week there’s a new issue. I’ve lost count by now.”
Lazio squad: Ballotta, Baronio, Belleri, Bonetto, Cribari, Firmani, Foggia, Inzaghi, Makinwa, Mauri, Mudingayi, Mutarelli, Oddo, Pandev, Peruzzi, Quadri, Rocchi, Siviglia, Tare, Zauri.
Zaccheroni feels it is time to turn Torino's season round
Alberto Zaccheroni feels the Messina test is the right moment to turn Torino’s season around, especially on home turf. “The time has come to turn this situation around,” said the Coach. “The fact that so far we’ve picked up so little at the Olimpico cannot make us happy. We want to change direction, but it all depends on the form of the team right now.”
The Granata have managed just one win, a draw and three defeats in Turin this term, including a humiliating 4-0 drubbing at the hands of his old club Lazio. “There are times in which we deserved something more, like the 1-0 loss to Fiorentina. In that case I didn’t feel I could tell my players that they had done anything particularly wrong to merit that result.”
The next visitors to the Northern club at the foot of the Alps are Messina, making the trek all the way up the peninsula. “They have a better position in the table than ours. Messina try to play good football and often succeed, plus Christian Riganò is the Capocannoniere right now and is on great form,” said Zac.
“My side is also doing well and trained productively this week. I expect to see more concentration in defence with a dynamic forward line that attacks the space. We’ve become more solid at the back, but are still a little predictable upfront.” Stefano Fiore, Alessandro Rosina and Elvis Abbruscato could be dropped in favour of Roberto Muzzi and Roberto Stellone.
Arrigoni feels his job is safe despite president's blasts over his tactical choices
Daniele Arrigoni has laughed off reports his job on the Livorno bench is in danger if he fails to beat Udinese. “I haven’t had any signals of this kind from President Aldo Spinelli so far,” said the Coach, who was repeatedly publicly lambasted by the patron for his tactical choices.
“I do my work and I know that the destiny of every tactician is tied to the results he achieves.” Arrigoni’s position was substantially weakened after the 1-1 UEFA Cup draw away to Partizan Belgrade on Thursday, a point earned with a last-gasp goal from ‘keeper Marco Amelia.
“The UEFA Cup is a strain on football clubs, even a tax, as you waste a lot of energy and hardly get any money from it,” explained Spinelli. “However, I was upset at the home defeat to Glasgow Rangers, as the 15,000 fans under the rain deserved more. In 1992 I was President of Genoa and risked relegation because of the UEFA Cup taking away all our energy. Serie B for Livorno would be a disaster.”
The club is currently four points adrift of fourth place, but Spinelli famously fired Roberto Donadoni when Livorno were in sixth position, so Arrigoni can’t feel too secure. “Spinelli is right when he says the UEFA Cup saps a lot of energy, but that’s a long way from saying we should just give up on the competition completely,” responded the Coach.
To make matters worse, Livorno are facing a side that has won on both its previous Serie A trips to the Stadio Picchi. “Udinese have international strikers like Antonio Di Natale and Vincenzo Iaquinta, while they’ve always made us suffer over the past few years. We must try to play good football and rediscover our scoring touch on home turf.”
Reggina infuriated by penalty decision
Last night’s derby defeat infuriated Reggina boss Walter Mazzarri, who insisted his men were denied a clear penalty. “The ball was stopped voluntarily by Giuseppe Colucci’s arm. There aren’t any clearer penalties than that,” slammed the Amaranto Coach after the 1-0 home loss to Catania. “The decision penalised us in a moment of the match where we were playing very well. The game, in my view, was therefore decided by this incident.”
It wasn’t referee Paolo Tagliavento’s only contentious call in the fiery Calabria-Sicily derby at the Granillo. “We could’ve missed the penalty, seeing as Armando Pantanelli saved everything, but in reality it should’ve ended 0-0. There was an offside position on Giorgio Corona’s goal and we had a similar one disallowed against Fiorentina.”
This isn’t the first time that Reggina have complained about refereeing errors and Mazzarri was particularly angry, referring back to the Calciopoli 15-point penalty inflicted on the club. “We are tired of this situation. There are too many mistakes penalising us, but seeing as we play well and aren’t making too much of a fuss over the Calciopoli situation, it’d be nice if the officials were a little more attentive. We accept the 15-point penalty, but deserve more consideration during the actual games.”
Catania, on the other hand, maintained there was no reason for this controversy at the final whistle. “There was no penalty, as it certainly wasn’t an intentional handling offence,” assured Coach Pasquale Marino. “It’s not easy to run with your arms always close to your body, as you’d need a Superman to co-ordinate himself in that position. We weren’t awarded a similar spot-kick at San Siro, so these are always open to interpretation. This time it went well for us. As for the offside position, it’s possible.”
The incriminated figure, Catania midfielder Colucci, also explained that first half incident at the Stadio Granillo. “The ball certainly hit my hand, but I only saw it at the last second. I didn’t move my arm towards it at all. I was a little unbalanced, almost on my knees, and couldn’t adjust my position in time, but it most definitely was not on purpose.” -
Palermo [1 - 0] Sampdoria
35' [1 - 0] E. Corini -
Torino [0 - 1] Messina
36' [0 - 1] N.A. Cordova -
Inter Milan [1 - 0] Ascoli
41' [1 - 0] J. Zanetti -
FT Atalanta 2 - 0 AC Milan
FT Chievo 0 - 0 Cagliari
FT Empoli 1 - 1 Lazio
FT Inter Milan 2 - 0 Ascoli
FT Livorno 1 - 0 Udinese
FT Palermo 2 - 0 Sampdoria
FT Torino 1 - 1 Messina -
4 hitsOriginally posted by anhydrouscoppersulphate:siena
draw
draw
cagliari
draw
inter
udinese
palermo
draw
roma -
for those who wants points desperately then there is still hope cause there is a late serie a game AS Roma vs Fiorentina at 0330
do pop in to make your last prediction of the day
all are welcome to join. gd luck
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Roma 3-1 Fiorentina
1 hit -
lol
nobody know much abt seria a so difficult to post prediction
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Originally posted by used:lol
nobody know much abt seria a so difficult to post prediction 
Post prediction no need to know serie A also can.
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difficult meh? i got 5 hits for serie a yesterday. my epl predictions was crapOriginally posted by used:lol
nobody know much abt seria a so difficult to post prediction -
liddat might as well post for sleagueOriginally posted by Parka: Post prediction no need to know serie A also can. -
sureOriginally posted by used:liddat might as well post for sleague