Serie A Tips: Back Milan to march on

Serie A Tips: Back Milan to march on

Dave Farrar predicts Sassuolo will continue to reward bets on goals, Verona can stall the Old Lady and Rossoneri can railroad Roma...

Sassuolo guarantee goals

Sassuolo v Torino
Friday, 19:45
Live on FreeSports and Betfair Live Video

Having made a strong case for goals in Sassuolo's game against Bologna last week, and then being delighted when it turned into a seven-goal thriller, I'm certainly not going to desert them here.

Roberto De Zerbi's team play a Torino side who are yet to pick up a point this season, and whose last two games have produced 11 goals, as Marco Giampaolo once again begins to feel the pressure at the beginning of a Serie A season.

This is Sassuolo's best ever start to a Serie A campaign, and they are bidding to become the first team since Juventus in 1950 (and only the fourth team in Serie A history) to score at least 4 goals in 4 consecutive games. It was a record that Atalanta could have grabbed last week, but they singularly failed to.

I won't repeat my logic with regard to Sassuolo and goals, as the facts are there for anyone who watches them regularly to see: open style, easy on the eye, goalscorers in form. I think that, in struggling Torino, they've found themselves another entertaining dance partner, and with Andrea Belotti always seeming to flourish against Sassuolo, Giampaolo may just get something out of the game.

Whatever the storyline, though, it seems certain to be entertaining.

Hellas can stifle Juve

Juventus v Verona
Sunday, 19:45
Live on FreeSports and Betfair Live Video

Juventus remain something of a mystery this season, and while I'm not worried yet about my summer prediction that Inter Milan would be the team to dethrone them, there are other sides throwing down better challenges to Andrea Pirlo's men right now. With Inter surely set to improve, Juve must now be feeling a measure of pressure.

The absence of Cristiano Ronaldo has of course hurt them, and I was impressed with the way that they went to Kiev and won in midweek. Potential slip up avoided, and chance now to regroup.

They won't have things easy against Ivan Juric and Verona this Sunday night. Juric is a coach that I rate highly, and even though his side have taken just one point from their last six, they will provide a stiff test for Juve.

Verona have conceded only once so far this season, in their rather surprising defeat at Parma, and they have it in them to keep Juventus quiet here. I appreciate that they've also scored only once, and obviously that needs to improve, but with Juventus again having to cope without Cristiano Ronaldo, and with Verona's defensive plan well-oiled and ready, I think that they can come to Turin and get a draw, with our insurance in place should they lose by a single goal.

Unstoppable Rossoneri

Milan v Roma
Monday, 19:45
Live on Premier Sports 2 and Betfair Live Video

As I noted in my season preview, I expected Stefano Pioli and Milan to go well this term, but I didn't believe that they would go on a run quite as impressive as this. Four wins out of four means that they sit on top of Serie A, and they have the chance to make it five in a row for only the fourth time in their history when they take on Roma at San Siro on Monday night.

I think that they are more than capable of making it four wins in six against Roma, and potentially stretching that lead. Milan's good form has been based on sound defence and enough star quality up front, and Pioli's methods have proved disarmingly simple. This is a coach who has always been underrated, and is now getting the faith of a big club, and the time to allow his methods to work.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is in outstanding form, and has a great record against Roma, certainly in recent years, while the Giallorossi have started the season in predictably unconvincing style. They'll pull out some big results this season, but I believe that they'll be frustrating to follow, and am certainly happy to support Milan against them this Monday night.