Preview: Udinese-Napoli

Third-placed Napoli will be without leading scorer Gonzalo Higuain for the visit to Udinese's Stadio Friuli on Saturday afternoon [April 19, 14.00].

The Argentine, who netted his first-ever Serie A hat-trick against Lazio at the weekend and whose 17 strikes this term sees him lying third in the race to take the coveted capocannoniere crown, suffered a dead leg in training on Thursday and adds to Rafa Benitez's ever-growing list of match-day absentees.

Christian Maggio, Rafael, Juan Camilo Zuniga and Dries Mertens [suspended] are also unavailable for the game against a mid-table [14th] side who have lost back-to-back matches, albeit against champions-elect Juventus and Champions League-chasing Fiorentina.

So Colombian hitman Duvan Zapata is expected to be given a rare starting berth up top and they'll hope to continue in the type of form that has seen them win five of their last eight league fixtures [two defeats].

Francesco Guidolin-led Udinese, meanwhile, have lost four of their past eight fixtures but have a full compliment to choose from and will be buoyed by the fact that they, after being two-down inside 40 minutes, held the Partenopei to an exciting three-all draw at the San Paolo in December.

Though he didn't register during that encounter, Antonio Di Natale's record of 169 goals in 325 Serie A games for the Bianconeri, who have failed to build on a surprise but deserved fifth-placed finish last season, speaks for itself

He's hinted that this may be his final campaign and, if it is, it's been quiet by his lofty standards - only nine goals, including four penalties, in 28 - but he's still a threat and has an outstanding scoring ratio [five in seven] against the Neapolitans.

Tips:

• Three of the last four meetings between the pair have ended all-square. It's 12/5 with Ladbrokes for the game to finish level.
• Udinese have conceded two in each of their last two games, against Fiorentina and, last time out, Juventus. Total goals to be over three is a tempting-looking 12/5 with Bet365.
• Antonio Di Natale has bagged eight Serie A goals against Napoli - seven of which have come in his last five appearances. The veteran Italian, a two-time capocannoniere winner, is 8/5 anytime with Bet365.

Preview: Parma-Inter

Prior to traveling to Turin to face table-topping Juventus at the tail-end of last month Parma had built-up an impressive 17-game unbeaten streak in Serie A, a spell of results that had stretched back to October of last year, and were an attractive outside bet to sneak into a sought-after and keenly-contested final Champions League berth.

However, la Vecchia Signora ended that run at the Juventus Stadium, cantering to a routine 2-0 win, and then the Roberto Donadoni-managed team suffered back-to-back losses in the capital - first to Lazio and then to swashbuckling Roma [4-2] in a wildly-entertaining re-arranged match at the Olimpico.

Wounded but undeterred by the trio of setbacks, the Gialloblu rebounded with an unexpected home win against second-place-chasing Napoli. Disappointingly, though, they drew one-all at relegation-threatened Bologna last time out.

So there are question marks as to whether they're fully over their rough spell.

And on Saturday [April 19, 14.00] they face a stern examination against an inconsistent if capable Inter side who thrashed in-form Sampdoria in Genoa on Sunday afternoon and who lie one place [fifth] and two points ahead in the league table.

A win for either side would stack the deck in their favour for Europa League football next season.

And though the Milanese giants have only tasted defeat once in their last eight, their form can be described as up-and-down at best - and the habit of failing to finish off sides when they have them hurt has resulted in more draws [14] in Serie A than any other club.

Though they scored four without reply at the weekend, the 18-time league champions had previously drawn three games on the spin and threw away a two-goal half-time lead at lowly Livorno.

There's plenty for Walter Mazzarri's blue and black-shirted men to work on - if they'd converted half of those draws into wins then they'd be third - and they'll be without suspended defender Andrea Ranocchia [their only fresh absentee] for the visit to Ennio Tardini, where Parma have only lost twice at [to current one and two, Juventus and Roma] all term.

So it's an interesting-looking match-up between an ambitious pair who're looking to improve season-by-season and break back into the Italian elite, where many will argue a club of Inter's size and stature belong, which means Champions League football, increased attendances and, ultimately, greater revenue.

Encouragingly for Inter, some of their best form has arrived on the road this term [only four defeats in 16 and 32 goals scored]; the flip-side is that the host's have rarely looked as though they're going to lose at home.

Controversial forward Antonio Cassano, whose outstanding form over the past nine months has seen him re-monitored by Azzurri coach Cesare Prandelli ahead of this summer's World Cup, may have failed to net since March 16, but he has chipped-in with 11 strikes for Parma this season and will be eager to register against the side who dispensed with his services over the summer.

If the visitor's want to grab a rare win in Parma - it would be their first since Zlatan Ibrahimovic bagged a brace in 2008 - they'll need to look towards 15-goal [nine away from the San Siro] South American Rodrigo Palacio, who's only behind Immobile, Higuain, Tevez & Luca Toni in the race to take the highly-prized capocannoniere [the Serie A golden boot].

With Parma looking better at home and Inter appearing to be a more ferocious animal away from the expectation and shackles of the Giuseppe Meazza, it would come as little surprise if the game ended in a low-scoring stalemate. Yet i get the feeling that I Ducali will be the ones left smiling in northern Italy.

Tips:

• Parma have won each of their last three against Inter at home - and have kept two clean sheets in the process. The Emilia-Romagna-based side are 8/5  with William Hill to win.
• Inter have netted first in their last three away matches in Serie A. The Nerazzurri are 6/5 with Bet365 to bulge the net first.
• Rodrigo Palacio has scored nine goals against Parma, including his first-ever Serie A strike. The Argentine is 15/8 with BetVictor to bag anytime.

Welcome to Serie A Scommesse

Hello and welcome to Serie A Scommesse [which, quite simply, is the Italian word for betting].

I'm a sports journalist by trade - predominantly writing about boxing, online, in papers and magazines, since 2005 - and, as an ardent follower of Italian football over the past 20-odd years, it's always been a long-standing ambition of mine to write about the sport that's known in Italy as 'calcio'. Couple that with my interest in sporting betting and I've decided to set up a blog solely-dedicated to Serie A gambling tips and previews.

The format of my pieces will be simple and easy to follow: I'll preview a game, giving all the relevant team news, information on recent form and how the sides have been playing and then, at the end of the piece, I'll identify three or four decent-looking bets from the game, the odds and at which bookmakers the best price can be found at.

I hope that you'll enjoy what i have to say over the coming weeks, months and, all being well, years.

Tom Podmore.