Sunday, May 20th, 2012
The Italian football season gets underway this weekend and the Serie A betting suggests Inter Milan will defend their title under Rafael Benitez, rather than Jose Mourinho.
Betfair will be streaming extensive coverage of Serie A, with 6 games alone on the opening weekend including the Inter Milan, AC Milan, Roma, Juventus and Sampdoria matches – it’s all free when you just sign up for a Betfair account! You don’t even have to deposit, just click on the link to join.
11/10 Inter Milan (Betfred), 5/1 Roma (VC Bet), AC Milan (VC Bet), Juventus (VC Bet), 66/1 Napoli (VC Bet), Fiorentina (888 Sport), 80/1 Sampdoria (888 Sport)
Despite the departure of Mourinho and the replacement of him by the less charismatic Benitez, Inter Milan still look to have the best squad at their disposal and they put down an early marker with their win in the Super Cup over Roma. Despite the departure of Mario Balotelli, Inter have plenty of talent still on hand, most notably Wesley Sneijder and Maicon. If Benitez is capable of inspiring them and providing suitable levels of organisation, the title has to be theirs to lose.
Roma were their nearest rivals and have a welcome level of stability with Claudio Ranieri in charge. They haven’t done a great deal of spending, but they have managed to capture the sometimes prolific striker Adriano to go with Francesco Totti up front. Like Inter, they have the advantage of familiarity with each other, compared to some of the other teams who have undergone change.
AC Milan look to Pato to provide them with inspiration, along with the ageing legs of Ronaldinho under now coach Massimilliano Allegri, while they have been sniffing round Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Those two together would be a potent force while they still have quality at the back in Alessandro Nesta. We’re not convinced an ageing squad can have a last hoorah.
Juventus have gone with Luigi Del Neri as their new manager after their fure to make it into the Champions League, having done so with Sampdoria. Defener Leonardo Bonucci from Bari and keeper Marco Storari look good acquisitions and the top four beckons.
Of the other sides, Sampdoria were knocked out of the Champions League by Werder Bremen but they still have the goals of Giampolo Pazzini. Their new coach is Mimmo Di Carlo, hired from Chievo. They do have a good squad and another top half finish beckons.
Genoa have picked up some useful signings and are the dark horse. Of the new boys, we have a sneaking feeling Cesena might do well. They have made one or two signing of good experienced players, notably Stephen Appiah and they might defy expectations.
Don’t forget that there are Serie A live streams every weekend on Betfair! Open an accoun to enjoy and claim a £25 FREE BET