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The final round of Serie A fixtures takes place this weekend and there is still plenty to be decided in the Italian top flight. Juventus have wrapped up the title for the sixth time in a row, but Roma and Napoli are still battling it out for second place. At the other end of the table Pescara and Palermo have been relegated and either Crotone or Empoli will join them in next season’s Serie B depending on how the results go. Here are some predictions ahead of week 38 in the 2016/17 Serie A season:
Roma Will Land Second Place
Luciano Spalletti’s men have been the second best team in the league this season and go into the final day a point ahead of third placed Napoli. All they have to do is beat lowly Genoa and they will finish second. Genoa beat Torino last time out, but have endured a pretty tough season and are 16th, five points clear of the relegation zone. Roma beat them 1-0 away in January and should earn a comfortable victory on their home turf in this match. A selection of sports betting sites are taking wagers on this game, and Roma are around the 1/20 mark to win it, which is an outrageously low set of odds. Genoa have little to play for though, as they are assured of dodging relegation, and a motivated Roma side should beat them. Napoli are away at mid-table Sampdoria, a trickier game, but they should also win and the odds on that are 2/11. But it will be too little, too late and Roma will be the runners-up.
Edin Dzeko for the Golden Boot
Dzeko has banged in 28 goals in the league this season and has been on fire lately. He is a wonderful finisher and strong in the air, and his dynamic attacking has been the driving force behind Roma’s title challenge, which has seen them fall only a few points short of Juventus. But he has not yet sewn up the Golden Boot. Dries Mertens of Napoli is hot on his heels, with 27 goals. Mertens has a better goals per minutes played ratio, but has missed games through injury. Dzeko will relish the chance to take on a leaky Genoa defence on the final day of the season as they have already let in 61 goals in 37 games. Sampdoria are better defensively and Mertens might not get as many chances as Dzeko does, so the even money on offer for Dzeko to finish the season as top goal scorer looks a great bet.
Empoli to Beat the Drop
Crotone have done remarkably well to drag themselves into contention on the last day. They looked dead and buried at the beginning of April, but embarked on a remarkable unbeaten run that stretched for seven games and included wins over Chievo, Inter Milan, Pescara, Udinese and Sampdoria. But their final two games of the campaign always looked tough. Last time out they lost to Juventus, and now they face fourth-placed Lazio, who need a win to ensure they finish above Atalanta. Crotone have a good chance of getting a result, but even if they do it might not be enough. Empoli go into their final game away at Palermo knowing their destiny is in their own hands. They are a point ahead of Crotone, and just have to match their result. Palermo have been very poor this season and have taken just 23 points from 37 games. Empoli beat them 1-0 in January and will fancy their chances of getting another result here. You would certainly rather be a point ahead and facing Palermo than a point behind and facing Lazio, and for that reason Crotone are 2/9 favourites to go down and look good value for it.
Written by Sharhind Singh
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