Serie A Betting: Can Martinez Lead Inter to Scudetto?
It has been three seasons since Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan won Serie A at a canter and took home their first Scudetto in 11 years. Inter would proceed to lose key players like Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi as well as Conte. Nevertheless, Serie A betting fans saw the team enjoy a promising first season under Simone Inzaghi by winning the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana, reaching the UEFA Champions League knockout round for the first time in a decade, and losing out on the title on the final day of the season to Milan. Inzaghi would follow that up by leading Inter to yet another domestic cup double and a third-placed finish behind Napoli and Lazio, whilst he also guided them to the Champions League Final, where they would narrowly lose to Manchester City.
Inzaghi’s sole league title came in 1999-00 as a 24-year-old striker with Lazio, but that could be set to change very soon. Inter sits first in the league table, two points above Juventus, and they have emerged as the favorites to win this season’s league title in Italy’s top-flight with our sportsbook backing them at -350 in comparison to Juve (+275) and Milan (+2800). Apart from their recent extra-time defeat to Bologna in the Coppa Italia, the Nerazzurri have lost just one match in all competitions this season – a 2-1 loss to Sassuolo on Sep. 27 – winning 14 of 18 in the league and boasting the best attack (42 goals scored) and defense (eight goals conceded) in Serie A. If you’re planning to bet on Italian soccer, put your money on Inter as well as their captain Lautaro Martinez.
Martinez has scored 21 goals in each of the past two seasons only to miss out on the Capocannoniere to Ciro Immobile and Victor Osimhen, but today, he is on pace to reach 30 for the first time in his career. El Toro sits atop the scoring charts with 15 goals, ahead of Domenico Berardi (9), Olivier Giroud (8), and Romelu Lukaku (8), and it should come as no surprise that the Serie A betting lines have him as the runaway favorite for the Golden Boot at -450.
Can Bologna Return to European Competition After Two Decades?
It is undeniable that Thiago Motta’s Bologna have been the breakout stars of the first half of the 2023-24 Serie A season, with the Rossoblu losing just three of 18 matches so far – only Inter and Juventus (1) have fewer. Before closing out 2023 with a 3-0 defeat at Udinese, they had won four in a row, ending Inter’s chances of a third-straight Coppa Italia, edging Salernitana 2-1 and keeping clean sheets vs. Roma and Atalanta. They have been a thorn in the side of Italy’s biggest clubs, securing a point against Juve, Napoli, and Inter and beating Lazio, and they sit fifth in the table after taking 8 wins from 18. They find themselves just two points behind Fiorentina and they are looking to qualify for a major European tournament for the first time in a quarter-century.
The Las Vegas soccer odds aren’t quite convinced about Bologna’s durability – they are ranked at +450 to finish in the top four, behind Fiorentina (+175), Atalanta (+350), Roma (+325) and Napoli (+175). However, they are the only top-half side who are not currently competing in European football alongside Juve, and this extra rest and recovery may come in handy for them as they look to beat the odds and return to the promised land.
They’ll be counting on Joshua Zirkzee, who, at 22 years of age, has emerged as a revelation in attack with seven goals and two assists, assuming the role of Bologna’s attacking talisman following Marko Arnautovic’s departure to Inter. With Zirkzee in red-hot form and a stalwart defensive record (15 goals conceded) that is only surpassed by Juve (11) and Inter (8), Serie A betting fanatics have plenty of reason to be optimistic about Bologna’s chances this season.
