Top Serie A Teams Chase Final Europa League Places on Saturday
Published August 1, 2020 by Florin P
Serie A teams play for the first time this season, with the final Europa League spots on the line and several teams in the race.
The Serie A race is about to end, as the final round is scheduled for this weekend, starting on Friday evening. Some of the most exciting matches take place on Saturday afternoon, when three former Champions League teams compete for a Europa League berth. AC Milan, Napoli and AS Roma try to book a place in the second most important European competition. All the matches start at 7:45 PM UK time and they will pit the challengers against highly motivated opponents.
AC Milan Try to Overtake AS Roma on Sunday
AC Milan have home pitch advantage against Cagliari and the starting formation that doesn’t miss any key players. This gives them favorite status and odds of 7/20 at bet365 Sports after a string of positive results. Failing to win the last match against Atalanta can have repercussions unless they defeat the team from Sardinia. The visitors sit comfortably at the middle of the standings and have very little to fight for, but they won’t give up without a fight and are priced at 7/1.
Last Ditch Effort for Napoli to Secure a Europa League Berth
Napoli can still salvage a disappointing season but they need a victory at home against Lazio. This result needs to be doubled by a draw or a defeat for AC Milan, so the future doesn’t look particularly rosy for the Southerners. Add to this the fact that they take on the team sitting in the fourth place and it is easy to explain the odds of 23/10 offered by bet365 Sports. The visitors don’t have much to fight for, but they would still like a place on the podium which they can obtain if they win at odds of 11/10.
AS Roma Challenges Juventus in Turin
AS Roma currently sit on a place that makes of eligible for direct qualification to the Europa League group stage. Playing on the road against Juventus greatly complicates their mission, as they have enjoyed little success in Turin. The only good news for the visitors is that the hosts have already won the championship and play without fans. Even so, the hosts are credited with the first chance and odds of 4/5 by 888 Sport, whereas the visitors get odds of 5/2 to prevail.
Atalanta and Inter Milan Play for the Second Place
Atalanta and Inter Milan are virtually tied for the second place, with Inter having a one-point advantage. They play on the road, but this shouldn’t matter too much, given the proximity of the two cities. Add to this the fact that the hosts will play on an empty stadium, and home pitch advantage won’t mean that much. Motivation and form are at roughly the same levels, hence the balanced odds of 6/5 on the home team and 2/1 on the visitors at 888 Sport.
Disclaimer:
The odds mentioned here were accurate at the featured bookmakers at the hour the article was written, respectively on Thursday, July 30 at 9 am UK time.
