Serie A 2008/9 Predictions: Week 1

Week one, also known as “throw shit against the wall and see how much sticks”. How will new players adapt? Which young’uns will turn into stars? Will another big club begin a rough year? Will Maurizio Zamparini fire someone before halftime? All questions we need answered which won’t be answered until at the very least Monday. More likely November. But it won’t prevent us from trying.

Saturday

Udinese v Palermo This one may not get the hype, but it might very well be an incredibly entertaining game to kick off the new year. Rumor has it Palermo is less than thrilled with their Amauri replacement Tulio de Melo and Udinese is always thrilled to have the Toto Di Quagliarella combo. Ergo, 2-1 Zebras.

Sampdoria v Inter The Nerazzurri are clearly the stronger side and will be favored to win all but a few games this season, but Antonio Cassano will still do some things. Just won’t be enough. 2-1 Inter.

Sunday

Atalanta v Siena I predict this game will be incredibly boring and you’d be better off watching every season of Designing Women on DVD. Nil-Nil draw.

Milan v Bologna What a rude introduction for Bologna. Think it’ll take some time for Carletto to really find his tactical feel with all these fancy new names in lights at his disposal, but they should still win easily. 2-0 Milan.

Cagliari v Lazio Cagliari was solid at the Sant’Elia last summer and Lazio was horrendous away from home. 2-1 Sardinians on a Bobby Freshwater brace (remember that name – or even Robert Acquafresca).

Roma v Napoli The Giallorossi will be without the services of Totti, which is usually a case for concern, but they really impressed without him last season, and did well in the SuperCoppa when they and their 5 central mids should’ve been steamrolled by Inter. 1-0 Roma.

Catania v Genoa Nicolae Dica might just prove to be one of the sneaky good buys of the summer, and Catania could finally have found its answer to those goal scoring inadequacies. Problem is, Genoa will score some too. 2-2.

Torino v Lecce Last year’s Torino was always an easy bet: pick between a 0-0 or, if Toro was feeling a bit frisky that day, a 1-1 draw. This year they’ve actually got some (modest) firepower this year and, gasp, might actually score a goal. So a 1-1 draw it is. (Pencil in draws until they find their feet.)

Chievo v Reggina Two years ago Chievo went down on the last day after Milan unexpectedly lost to (coughbentoverforcough) Reggina in what became a much discussed game (along with other results). Rest assured Chievo began licking their chops when the schedule was announced. Revenge is a dish best served by airborne donkeys. 3-0 Chievo.

Fiorentina v Juventus And now we kick off the season properly. I’ll be honest, I have a lot more faith in Juve’s squad than I do Fiorentina’s, but I have a lot more faith in Cesare Prandelli than I do in Claudio Rainieri. So I think I’ll just hop right up on this fence. 2-2.

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Category: Serie A