Genoa and Bologna to star in snorefest

A tough Italian Serie A betting card on which the most attractive play is a punt on under two and a half goals in the match between Genoa and Bologna at the Luigi Ferraris.

Genoa is safe from relegation but Bologna is fighting for its Italian Serie A life, level on points with Sassuolo but ranked below the relative newcomer on head-to-head records. Also trailing 16th-placed Chievo on head-to-heads, Bologna will need to finish the Italian Serie A season with more points than three of its four rivals for the drop or face playing in the Italian Serie B competition next term.

What appeals about betting on under two and a half goals in the Italian Serie A game between Genoa and Bologna are three things: the result of the reverse top-flight fixture, the entertainment value of the teams and the available odds.

Genoa travelled to Bologna in December and the result of the Italian Serie A match was a narrow 1-0 home win. Alessandro Diamanti scored Bologna’s winning goal but the Italy star fled to Guangzhou Evergrande in the Chinese Super League shortly thereafter and his ex-side’s troubles have mounted ever since. Bologna has won twice this year because it has struggled to hit the back of the net without Diamanti.

One would be not be pleased if one had watched Genoa’s and Bologna’s Italian Serie A games purely for goals. Genoa’s 35 Italian Serie A matches have averaged 2.40 goals, ranking it 17th out of 20. Bologna’s 35 Italian Serie A games have had a mean of 2.34 goals, ranking it 19th. So one is talking about two of Italian Serie A’s dullest four sides. And for the record, 23 of Genoa’s 35 Italian Serie A matches have gone under two and a half goals, while Bologna’s under/over score stands at 19 under and 15 over. They are under teams.

The odds of 1.85 that 888sport and Unibet are offering about the Italian Serie A game between Genoa and Bologna going under two and a half goals are more than fair. One had expected to the under option as the clear favourite.

Udinese beat Livorno 2-1 on the road in the Italian Serie A match between the sides four months ago and, even though Udinese does not have a great deal for which to play, it appears overpriced at odds of 1.95 with Betway to complete the league double over its relegation-threatened opponent.

It is the time of the season when teams such as Livorno have to pull rabbits out of hats to stave off the dreaded drop. But Livorno has, presumably, been giving the cliched 110 per cent for several weeks now and all to no avail. Livorno is bottom of Italian Serie A’s six-game form table having earned just one point out from its last seven matches.

Udinese is four positions and 14 points above Livorno on the Italian Serie A ladder, plus the difference between the home and away numbers of the sides is stark. Udinese’s 17 Italian Serie A home games have produced eight wins, three draws and six losses, whereas Livorno’s 17 league away matches have resulted in two wins, two draws and 13 losses. Udinese deserves to be much shorter than 1.95 to beat Livorno.

Finally, Napoli looks like an Italian Serie A home banker at odds of 1.40 with William Hill to defeat Cagliari and lock up Italy’s third and final UEFA Champions League berth.

Cagliari’s Italian Serie A away record is the second worst in terms of wins and the third worst in terms of points so it should struggle to hold a Napoli team that has won 11, drawn four and lost two of its home league games.