Serie A Matchday 35 Odds, Champions League and Relegation Races Heat Up
Napoli Clinch First Serie A Title in 33 Years
Focus Shifts in Serie A
Last Thursday, the long wait for Napoli fans finally came to an end. With a 1-1 draw at Udinese, Napoli clinched their first Serie A title in 33 years. The party got officially underway after the Partenopei’s 1-0 home win vs Fiorentina on Sunday. Now that Napoli has won the Scudetto, the European and relegation races are at the forefront of the Serie A picture. Currently, Juventus, Lazio, and Inter Milan round out the top four but Inter are just five points ahead of seventh-placed Roma with four games remaining. Verona has escaped the relegation zone for now as the bottom three teams are Spezia, Cremonese, and Sampdoria. We’ll take a closer look at both the Champions League and relegation races as we review the Serie A Matchday 35 odds.
Games of the Week:
Lazio vs Lecce
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With a 2-0 loss at AC Milan on Saturday, Lazio fell for a third time in their last five Serie A matches. The Biancocelesti have dropped down to third place in the Serie A standings and are just three points ahead of fifth-placed AC Milan. Lazio needs to close out the season strongly to clinch a top-four berth and a spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League. This Friday, Maurizio Sarri’s side take on struggling Lecce. Lecce have lost three of their last four and are just four points outside of the relegation zone.
Lazio are one-goal favorites here and have kept the most clean sheets in the league this season. They’re -150 moneyline favorites and come in at +130 odds to cover the spread. Meanwhile, Lecce +1 sits at -150 odds and they’ve only conceded 20 goals in 17 road matches this season. Lecce also won the reverse fixture 2-1 but are +470 underdogs heading into Friday. Notably, they do only have one win in their last 11 Serie A matches. Lecce have also scored just one goal from open play in their last five games.
Regardless, a draw displays +255 odds for this match. While Lecce has all of their starters available, Lazio midfielder Matias Vecino is out for this one. Midfielder Danilo Cataldi is also expected to be a game-time decision. Interestingly, Lecce have won their last two games vs Lazio by a 2-1 scoreline but they have just one win on the road vs the Biancocelesti in the last 30 years. Although both defenses have been solid this season, over two goals show -135 odds for the match. With four winnable games remaining, Lazio will look to get back on track here.
Spezia vs AC Milan
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Leonardo Semplici’s tenure as Spezia coach has gotten off to a disastrous start. Under Semplici, Spezia is 1-5-5 and has lost three matches in a row. They’ve dropped into the relegation zone during their losing run and are three points from safety. On Saturday, they’ll host an AC Milan side that faces Inter in a crucial Champions League Semifinal lash on Wednesday. Milan can’t afford to take this match lightly, as they’re currently outside of Serie A’s top four. They have gone unbeaten in their last seven league matches, though, and took down Lazio 2-0 last Saturday.
Currently, the Serie A Matchday 35 odds price AC Milan as 0.5-goal favorites despite playing on short rest. They come in at -115 odds to cover and win the match and bettors should check Milan’s team news following Wednesday’s UCL Semifinal first leg. Key Milan winger Rafael Leao is dealing with a knock and Stefano Pioli may prioritize playing him in the UCL over Serie A. Three days after this match, Milan will face Inter again in the second leg. Spezia is 2-3 all-time vs AC Milan in Serie A and Spezia +0.5 shows -105 odds here.
This is a must-win match for both sides but Spezia enters as +330 underdogs and a draw is priced at +245 odds. They’ve won just one match since the middle of January and have scored more than one goal in a match just four times since then. In fact, only last-placed Sampdoria have scored fewer goals than Spezia this season. M’Bala Nzola has nearly half of those goals and he’s available Saturday. However, Kevin Agudelo is suspended and fellow midfielder Emil Holm is out for the season. With Spezia’s struggles to score, under 2.5 goals show -115 odds.
Inter Milan vs Sassuolo
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Inter Milan’s recent Serie A scores and odds have been quite impressive. They’ve won their last four league matches and outscored their opponents 14-1 in the process. The Nerazzurri are back in the top four and are just three points behind second-placed Juventus. Following Wednesday’s UCL Derby della Madonnina, Inter hosts Sassuolo at the San Siro. Sassuolo is in 13th place, safe from relegation but unable to qualify for European competition next season.
Despite playing on just a few days of rest, Inter should be highly motivated for this match. The Nerazzurri are one-goal favorites and show -135 odds to cover the spread. Inter have won four of their last five matches vs Sassuolo, including back in October. Edin Dzeko scored a brace as Inter won 2-1. Inter Milan is also a -220 moneyline favorite while Sassuolo is a +500 underdog. Sassuolo +1 shows +115 odds and the Neroverdi have won six of their last 11 games. Sassuolo is just 4-4-9 on the road this season, though.
The Neroverdi have also averaged just 0.8 goals per game over their last five matches. Meanwhile, Inter has been scoring with ease but under three goals sit at -115 odds for the match. Just two of the 19 Serie A meetings between these sides have finished in draws. The last was in 2020 and the oddsmakers price a deadlock at +390.
Juventus vs Cremonese
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Cremonese refuses to go back down to Serie B without a fight. The Lombardy club has lost just one of their last six league matches and defeated Spezia 2-0 last Saturday. With four games to go, 19th-placed Cremonese are six points from safety and need to win their remaining fixtures. However, they come up against an in-form Juventus side on Sunday. Juventus have won their last two Serie A matches and come up against Sevilla in the first leg of a Europa League Semifinal on Thursday.
The Serie A Matchday 35 odds price Juventus as -275 home favorites. Juve have the league’s best home record this season, at 12-3-2. In the reverse fixture, Juve defeated Cremonese 1-0 in their first Serie A meeting for nearly 27 years. Cremonese, who have won just one of their 17 road matches this season, come into this match as +750 underdogs. The Old Lady is also a 1.5-goal favorite and shows +110 odds to cover. Cremonese +1.5 sits at -130 odds and they’ve conceded just two goals in their last three games.
Second-placed Juventus enter the weekend five points ahead of fifth-placed AC Milan. They can barely afford to drop points in the last few matches of the season. At this point, Cremonese needs a win more than Juve and should go all out to try to grab all three points. A draw comes in at +385 odds here. Cremonese also has some key players who could potentially miss Sunday’s match. Midfielder Charles Pickel is suspended, while forwards Frank Tsadjout and Cyriel Dessers are day-to-day with injuries. Only four teams have scored more goals than Juventus this season and over 2.5 goals display -125 odds for the match.
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