Italian Serie A
2013-04-21 - Catania vs Palermo
A Sports Betting Pick by ROzsolt
Football : Italy : Serie A
Venue: "Stadio Angelo Massimino", Catania
Sunday 21th April – Kickoff time: 15:00 GMT+1
Catania (9th W13 D8 L11)
Catania’s hopes of competing in Europe next season suffered another blow as they were held to a goalless draw by Chievo last time out.
The Sicilians have recorded just one win from their last six Serie A games which saw them drop to the 9th place, four points behind AS Roma who are fifth.
Coach Maran is already preparing for the upcoming season and announced that Catania signed 26 years old Argentina striker Sebastian Leto from Panathinaikos.
Until then, Maran will have to deal with the absence of defender Alvarez who is out with an injury, but luckily for Catania all their midfielders are fit to play in this one (Lodi, Almiron and Izco).
Palermo (18th W5 D3 L14)
Palermo failed to secure their third consecutive Serie A win at the Stadio Renzo Berbara against Bologna last weekend which means that their survival hopes have suffered another setback.
The Sicilians were not able to preserve the fifth minute lead after Ilicic’s goal allowing Bologna’s Gabbiadini to level the score soon after that. Palermo searched for the winner, but were unable to find the net for the rest of the game.
They will now travel to Catania seeking their second away victory of the season after securing a 3-1 win over Sampdoria on their previous travel, but coach Sannino will have to deal with an important absence for this match.
Captain Miccoli is out with an injury, while his partner up front, Palermo’s top scorer Ilicic was also in doubt, but according to gazzetta.it he’ll recover in time to be part of Palermo’s starting line-up.
The Betting Verdict
I would hate to see Palermo relegate at the end of the season, but they have missed too many excellent opportunities to dig themselves out of the hole. Failing to beat Bologna at home is the perfect example.
They will now have to face rivals Catania in a fixture they’ve lost five consecutive times and the hosts will surely push for the win considering the rivalry between the sides.
Catania is still within reasonable distance from the top 5, so there’s a lot at stake for them as well. Maran’s side will be hoping to record their 11th home success of the season against Palermo.
Catania looks excellent on paper with all their regular midfielders fit to play and as much as I’d like Palermo to jump over the line I can’t see them walking away with a positive result from this match.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Catania 1-0 Palermo
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Catania to win at 2.28 at PinnacleConfidence: 7/10
