Our thoughts are with you, Cassano
Betting tips 
/ Dave Farrar / 04 November 2011 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market
We need all the mavericks that we can get, and so I fervently hope that he gets well, gets fit, and gets back where he belongs.
Two good bets ahead of the weekend's action from the world of Serie A and a time to save a thought for the often crazy, often brilliant, always unpredictable Antonio Cassano, who is seriously ill at the moment.
When Serie A introduced an 11.30 kick off a couple of years ago, the experiment felt like a mistake. There were a series of dull games, half asleep performances. This season, however, it feels as if strikers have woken up to the idea of an early kick off, while defenders continue to struggle. The last two 11.30 matches have produced a combined total of twelve goals, and the seven Sunday lunch-time games so far this season have added up to 27 goals in all, an average of 3.85 goals per game. That trend looks set to continue at the Marassi this weekend, when Genoa take on an Inter side still struggling. Inter's 2-1 defeat by Juventus last week was actually a flattering scoreline, as they defended desperately, with a ragged high defensive line allowing Juve to penetrate time and again.
If the Inter goalkeeper Luca Castellazzi had been sent off (as he should have been), then the Nerazzurri could have been looking at a Manchester derby style scoreline, and Claudio Ranieri must have been secretly relieved at the final whistle. Three of Genoa's four home games so far have provided over 2.5 goals, and there's no reason to believe that this match will buck that trend. Alberto Malesani is having a brilliant tactical season, and he will set up his team to exploit Inter's defensive weaknesses. I expect them to do just that, and was intending to put Genoa up for the win at what I hoped would be a better price than the [2.84] which is currently on offer. I'll revert to the second plan of over 2.5 goals at [2.06], which I think is a little big.
Recommendation Back over 2.5 goals in Genoa v Inter @ [2.06]
I wasn't expecting to choose this bottom of the table fixture as one of this week's featured matches, but sometimes an absurd price jumps out at you and simply must be taken on. I have no idea why Cesena are as short as [2.06] to beat Lecce on Sunday, but that is the way that the market looks at the moment. And it's plain wrong.
Let's get one thing straight before continuing: Lecce are no great shakes and their young manager Eusebio Di Francesco is facing the sack. Lecce have lost five of their last seven games and are likely to be relegated, but if that all sounds a little unpromising then I can assure you that Cesena are no better, and have serious injury problems ahead of Saturday's game. Adrian Mutu returns after suspension, but Cesena's best player Roberto Guana is suspended for this one, and with Giuseppe Colucci and Jorge Martinez also missing, their midfield looks desperate.
There are those who will feel that the appointment of new coach Daniele Arrogoni will help Cesena, but a new man in charge doesn't necessarily feel that form will turn around. The facts are simple: yes, Lecce aren't great, but you have a chance to lay a team which has scored only three goals all season and which is yet to win a game at a price which is close to even money. By all means back Lecce for the win at [4.4] if you prefer that kind of price, but I'm keeping the draw on my side.
Recommendation Lay Cesena at home to Lecce at [2.06]
Only two tips this week, but I hope that you'll forgive me the indulgence of pointing out just how significant I feel that the illness suffered by Antonio Cassano could turn out to be. I don't mean the blow that it deals to Milan's title hopes, although that is considerable, but the impact it could have on football fans.
I know that Cassano isn't to everyone's taste, and he is the first person to admit that he verges on the lunatic. It's dangerous to forget where Cassano comes from, though, and that as a kid from a poor family and bad background in Bari he didn't have much chance at emerging as a fully-rounded human being. He has coped with fame far more successfully than his closest English counterpart, Paul Gascoigne, and I just hope that we haven't seen the last of his subtle talent on a football field.
Because if you bother to sit down and watch Cassano then you'll realise that he is brilliant. Capable of scoring, creating and entertaining, and finally at a club where his ability seems to fit perfectly. We need all the mavericks that we can get, and so I fervently hope that he gets well, gets fit, and gets back where he belongs.
