Serie A Matchday 18 Odds
Top Two Teams Clash on Friday
Juventus Keep On Winning
Massimiliano Allegri’s Juventus started off the Serie A season with a paltry 3-4-2 record. Since that time, they’ve won eight straight matches with shutouts in each one. La Vecchia Signora have shot up to second place and take on Serie A’s top Serie A team Napoli on Friday in one of the biggest matches of the season.
All eyes will be on what has been one of the most hotly contested fixtures of the last few years. Still, there are certainly other Serie A Matchday 18 odds worth reviewing. We’ll take a look at Napoli vs. Juventus and the other matches of the week.
Games of the Week
Napoli vs Juventus
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Serie A leaders Napoli bounced back from their first loss of the season by defeating Sampdoria 2-0 on Sunday. Victor Osimhen scored his Serie A-leading 10th goal of the season as Napoli went seven points clear in the Serie A standings.
The Partenopei will attempt to get their fourth straight home win vs. Juventus on Friday. Juventus started off slowly once again this season but have been a defensive juggernaut in recent months.
Juve have conceded six fewer goals than any other team in the league but are ½-goal underdogs heading into Friday. Both Napoli and Juventus sit at -110 odds to cover the spread and Napoli’s moneyline odds are the same.
Juventus are injury stricken at the moment and could miss a handful of key players in this one. Defenders Gleison Bremer and Leonardo Bonucci are scrambling to recover from injury in time for this one. The same goes for Juan Cuadrado and Dusan Vlahovic. Paul Pogba will certainly be out for Juve.
So, the fact that Juve show +310 odds to win the match isn’t a big surprise. A draw also comes in at +255 odds.
Napoli have only been shut out twice all season and are heavily favored to break Juve’s shutout streak in this one. If Bremer and Bonucci can’t play, Juventus fullbacks Alex Sandro and Danilo are expected to play as two of the three center backs. That could cause mismatches in Napoli’s favor.
In a matchup between the two best defenses in the league, under 2½ goals shows a -115 price. This is a match that Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli know would swing the title race even further in their favor. With a win in one of the Italian Serie A fixtures of the season, Napoli could go as many as ten points clear.
Lecce vs AC Milan
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Serie A new boys Lecce have quietly put together a five-match unbeaten streak. Their streak is at high risk of ending when they take on Scudetto holders AC Milan on Saturday.
Milan are on a five-match unbeaten run of their own but lost a two-goal lead vs Roma to draw on Sunday. Both of those goals were conceded on set pieces and it remains to be seen whether Lecce can take advantage of a seemingly vulnerable AC Milan defense. Stefano Pioli’s side has kept a clean sheet in just one of their last eight Serie A matches.
Lecce aren’t to be underestimated, as the Puglian team has beaten both Atalanta and Lazio in recent weeks. They’ve also lost just two of their eight home matches this season. Still, an AC Milan side struggling with injury problems is listed as one-goal favorites for the match.
Despite missing goalkeeper Mike Maignan and defender Alessandro Florenzi, AC Milan sit at -180 moneyline and +105 ATS odds. Simon Kjaer, Rade Krunic, Fode Ballo-Toure, Ante Rebic, Junior Messias and Divock Origi are all doubts for this contest as well. That should give Lecce, who show -125 ATS and +525 moneyline odds, some confidence. Both teams have drawn two of their last five Serie A matches and a draw comes in at +295 odds here.
The key man for Milan is Rafael Leao, who assisted Tommaso Pobega’s goal on Sunday. Portuguese international Leao is tied for the league lead, with 12 goal contributions so far this season.
Lecce’s 20-year old forward Lorenzo Colombo has scored four goals and provided two assists in just over 600 minutes this season and is a player to watch. Despite both defenses looking vulnerable at times this season, under 2½ goals displays -125 Serie A Matchday 18 odds for this match.
Roma vs Fiorentina
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Roma’s Roger Ibanez will miss Sunday’s match but he scored the first of two late Roma goals to draw 2-2 with AC Milan. Tammy Abraham added a second with just minutes to play. Roma, who are in sixth place, will now take on ninth place Fiorentina on Matchday 18. Fiorentina are coming off a late 2-1 win over Sassuolo and have won three of their last five.
On the other hand, Jose Mourinho’s Roma have just one win in their last five matches. Still, the Serie A Matchday 18 odds price Roma as ½-goal favorites.
The Giallorossi are priced at +105 moneyline and ATS odds. Meanwhile, Fiorentina are favored to win or draw the match, at -125 ATS odds. Mourinho’s tenure at Roma has been characterized by frustrating inconsistency when it comes to results. Roma have, however, won the last three fixtures vs. Fiorentina at the Stadio Olimpico.
‘Viola come in at just +250 odds to win the match. None of the last six meetings have finished level, but punters can take a draw at +255 odds here.’
Fiorentina could also be missing joint-leading scorer Luka Jovic on Sunday due to injury. Despite being favored to get a result, the Viola come in at just +250 odds to win the match. None of the last six meetings have finished level, but punters can take a draw at +255 odds here.
Roma have been merely average at home this season, with a 4-1-3 record. Meanwhile, Fiorentina have just two wins in eight road matches thus far. Notably, Roma home matches have averaged just 1.63 goals per game this season.
So, it’s not exactly surprising that under 2½ goals shows -125 odds for this one. Fiorentina don’t have a consistent goal scoring threat and Roma’s offense has been quite inconsistent this season.
Unusual Number of Draws on Matchday 17
Before Monday’s matches, five of the eight Matchday 17 fixtures ended in draws. That includes four of the top seven teams in the league.
AC Milan and Roma played to an aforementioned 2-2 draw and fourth place Inter Milan drew with Monza. Like AC Milan, Lazio blew a two-goal lead to Empoli and could only come away with a point.
The competition is heating up for the European places. Napoli hold a seven-point lead over both Juventus and AC Milan, while Inter are in fourth with 34 points.
All of Lazio, Atalanta and Roma are currently on 31 points and any of these teams could make the top four and reach next season’s Champions League.
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