Serie A round 1 preview: Juventus look to start on the right foot

Old Lady have won the last seven league titles and start latest defence on the road against Chievo

Oddshark

This coming Saturday (18 August) sees the kick off in Italy’s Serie A – the top tier of domestic football in the country. And all eyes will once again be on Juventus as they look to make it eight league titles in a row.

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Getting the ball rolling

First things first, swing by the Oddsshark website, procure your favourite betting agency and sort out your very own account with a username and password. As a new customer and with the new Serie A season set to get underway, there should be a wide range of promotions and offers for you to enjoy.

Where should I be investing my money?

Juventus made harder work of winning the league last season, finishing just four points ahead of runners up Napoli having been trailing for around two thirds of the campaign. Ll eyes will be on them and their new signing Cristiano Ronaldo, however, as they kick off their latest title defence away to Chievo Verona.

Chievo survived a scare to ultimately secure their top flight status. The Verona outfit finished the season just five points above the relegation zone.

It can therefore be of little surprise that it is champions Juventus who are the clear favourites to take the points in this opening day encounter. The champions are at just 1.22 to make a winning start to the season, with Chievo out at 13.00 to record a shock triumph, according to Oddsshark.

With Ronaldo in the team for the first time goals will surely be expected. A comprehensive 3-0 win for Juventus is priced at just 6.50, meaning that a US$5 bet would lead to a US$32.50 pay out – and, at 1.66, Ronaldo is the favourite to finish the season as top scorer in Italy’s Serie A.

Inter are one to watch this season

One team which has been active in the transfer market over the summer is Inter Milan. The side has not won a league title in close to a decade but, having tied coach Luciano Spalletti down to a new deal until 2021, look set to challenge for the title over the coming months.

The club have brought in highly rated Argentine forward Lautaro Martinez to partner compatriot Mauro Icardi in attack and are now being strongly linked with Real Madrid and Croatia playmaker Luka Modric. As if that were not enough, they have also managed to poach Roma’s influential midfielder Radja Nainggolan.

Inter kick off the new season away to Sassuolo, who finished 11th last season, but if Inter are serious about being title contenders then this is exactly the kind of game that they need to be winning. And Inter come in as the clear favourites to take the points at a price of just 1.57.

Despite playing in front of their own fans, Sassuolo find themselves out at 5.75 to make a winning start to the season, with a draw priced in the middle at 4.00. A narrow 2-1 win for Inter is priced at 8.00, while you can back over 2.5 goals at 1.80 – the same price for both teams to score.

Atalanta look to build on promising form last season

Atalanta were the surprise package of the division last time out, putting together an excellent run of form to finish in seventh place. They were rewarded with a place in the qualifying rounds of the UEF Europa League and as a result should be able to hit the ground running on Monday night when they host newly promoted Frosinone.

Atalanta may be out at 11.00 to go even further this season and finish in the top four, but they should have few problems against a side which has just come up from Serie B and are still finding their feet. This could be a harsh introduction to top flight football for the visitors.

The home side are the clear favourites to take all three points and you can back Atalanta to do so at just 1.33. Frosinone, meanwhile, are all the way out at 10.00 and their best hope of salvaging something from this curtain raiser may well be to play for a draw – a stalemate comes in at 4.75.

Ultimately, Atalanta should have too much in the tank, however. Both a 1-0 win and a 2-0 win for the home side is priced at 6.00, while you could double your money by backing under 2.5 goals in the game at 2.00 – you can also back Atalanta to be ahead by the interval at a price of 1.90.

Serie A round 1 fixtures:

Saturday, 18 August

(13.00) Chievo x Juventus (1.22); draw (5.75)

(2.80) Lazio x Napoli (2.40); draw (3.40)

Sunday, 19 August

(3.40) Torino x Roma (2.05); draw (3.50)

(1.50) AC Milan x Genoa (6.00); draw (4.33)

(2.20) Bologna x Spal (3.40); draw (3.20)

(2.20) Empoli x Cagliari (3.40); draw (3.20)

(2.40) Parma x Udinese (3.00); draw (3.20)

(2.75) Sampdoria x Fiorentina (2.45); draw (3.40)

(5.75) Sassuolo x Inter Milan (1.57); draw (4.00)