Serie A Preview: Away sides to have a great weekend

Stephen El Shaarawy is Milan's best player, but Juve will stop him

Dave Farrar fancies a trio of away clubs to emerge victorious this weekend, including Juventus at the home of the very disappointing AC Milan...

Torino v Fiorentina

Fiorentina have been good to us this season, and those of you who are on La Viola at a big price to win Serie A will be delighted with the way that things are going. For Fiorentina fans the last few weeks must have felt like a return to the glory days.

Not since the Cesare Prandelli era have they looked so good. Unbeaten in seven, Vincenzo Montella's men have won their past five to sit in third position in the table. And it's not as if the run has been a case of flat track bullying: they can fondly look back on victories over Lazio, Cagliari and Milan.

They tore Atalanta apart last weekend, but Montella has rapidly tried to stop all talk of the title. He said, pretty bluntly, this week: "Are we in the running for the Scudetto? We mustn't kid ourselves."

One of the most impressive things about Fiorentina's run, though, is the fact that they have coped with injuries admirably, notably the one which ruled out Stefan Jovetic from the last couple of games. He's back this weekend, the perfect time for a little squad rotation. David Pizarro's absence is a blow, and Torino will provide a decent challenge.

They have proved strong away from home, and the defeat by Roma on Monday was only their fourth of the campaign. It will be tight, as Torino hold the Division's fourth best defensive record, and that Roma match was just the third time they've conceded more than one goal in a match. I fancy Fiorentina to be too strong, though, and predict a narrow away win, and further excitement in Florence as La Viola fans dream of the title.

Recommendation: Back Fiorentina to beat Torino @ 2.47/5
Back Fiorentina to win 1-0 @ 8.27/1

Palermo v Catania

It should be a fun night on Saturday in Sicily as Palermo play Catania live on ESPN. This has never been the friendliest of derbies, but the flames have been fanned a little further this time by the ex Catania and current Palermo director Pietro Lo Monaco making a series of comments, including the brilliantly dismissive: "It's not as if we're welcoming Barcelona this weekend, so it is a game we will aim to win." 

Palermo's poor start means that they're in joint 15th position and only outside the relegation zone. The Rosanero have won only twice, and there are rumours that the lunatic President Maurizio Zamparini could fire Gian Piero Gasperini if they lose the derby, and move onto his third coach of the season.

Palermo will be without the three players who were sent off in a crazy game against Bologna last week and will particularly miss their midfield dynamo Edgar Barreto. Catania have one or two injury issues and aren't a spectacularly good side, but they're a better team than Palermo and have a great record in these derby matches, losing just one of the last six. In fact, Catania have won half of the Sicilian derbies since they returned to Serie A in 2006, six out of 12.

I'm slightly bothered that Catania are yet to win away this season, but I can't miss the opportunity for them to handle the atmosphere a little better, and impose their quality on the game. They're too big at 3.39/4, and I'll take them to win a suitably ill tempered game.

Recommendation: Back Catania to beat Palermo @ 3.39/4

Milan v Juventus

It seems crazy to think that these two teams were battling for the Scudetto last season, given how Juve have progressed and how Milan have fallen backwards.

This was the match which gave us last season's big flashpoint, the ruling out of Sulley Muntari's 'ghost goal' in a 1-1 draw at San Siro, but this could be a realtively anodyne renewal, with Juventus simply a far better team than the awful Rossoneri. Milan start the weekend 12th in Serie A, 17 points behind League leaders Juve. They have lost six games to Juve's one, and conceded twice as many goals.

Milan have improved, but given the way that they started the season, that wasn't exactly difficult, and it would be dangerous to believe that they're suddenly good enough to beat Juve.

Juventus are without Giorgio Chiellini for the match on Sunday night, but their squad is big enough to cope with that, and the key to the match is the visitor's ability to cope with the threat posed by Milan's Stephen El Shaarawy. He is by far and away their best player, and has scored 12 of Milan's 27 official goals this season. I think that, even without Chiellini, Juve can deal with him, and that means that they are a solid bet to come away from San Siro with a win.

Milan cost us last week by coming back against Napoli, but can they produce three massive performances in the space of seven days? I'm not sure. Juve are trading at 2.35/4 to win, and that's more than fair. Stick with the League's proven quality to come away with three points, and complete our trio of away wins.

Recommendation Back Juventus to beat Milan @ 2.35/4