Inter remains the team to beat in Serie A

Soccer Betting Lines

08/27/2010 - Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan has dominated Serie A over the past four seasons, and after a summer transfer period that has been extremely uneventful, the Nerazzurri will enter the season as favorites to retain their title.

Inter returns almost the same team that captured the treble last season, minus talented but troubled striker Mario Balotelli, while the biggest loss could be felt on the bench, as former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez replaces the departed Jose Mourinho, who left for Real Madrid.

Benitez failed to capture the UEFA Super Cup on Friday in a 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid, meaning that Inter's Serie A campaign will not get underway until Monday, when the club travels to Bologna.

Roma has been the chief opposition to Inter over the past few years, finishing as runners-up in both the league and Coppa Italia last season. But outside of adding Brazilian striker Adriano over the summer, the club failed to make any other significant additions, which leaves them a little short on talent when compared to Inter.

Claudio Ranieri's side opens its season at home against promoted club Cesena, while AC Milan will host Lecce.

Milan also failed to make any big moves over the summer, but they are hopeful that they can reach a deal with Barcelona for striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic before the close of the transfer window next week.

The former Inter sniper would be a welcome addition to a Milan attack that sorely needs some freshening up.

Juventus endured a horrible campaign last season, finishing seventh in Serie A. The club is now hoping a number of new signings, most notably Italy international Fabio Quagliarella, can help to reverse its fortunes, and the Old Lady will begin its season on the road at Bari.

Genoa visits Udinese on Saturday with both teams entertaining hopes of a spot in Europe, while Napoli made one of the biggest moves of the summer with the capture of Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani from Palermo.

Napoli finished last season in sixth place and the team will be looking to push into the top four this season, which starts with an away match at Fiorentina.

The Viola ended last season in a disappointing 11th place, and they will also be without one of their top players, Stevan Jovetic, for the first half of the season after he ruptured his cruciate ligament in early August.

In other action on the opening weekend of Serie A, Catania visits Chievo, Palermo hosts Cagliari, Brescia hits the road to meet Parma and Sampdoria tangles with Lazio.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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