Serie A Preview: Udinese vs Juventus – Team News, Lineups & Prediction | OneFootball

Saturday’s Serie A program closes out at the Bluenergy Stadium as perennial mid-table strugglers Udinese entertain top-four hopefuls Juventus. While the outcome of this fixture won’t change much for the home side, it could prove decisive for the visitors.

Udinese spurned a two-goal lead in a gut-wrenching 2-2 draw at Atalanta last weekend, wasting a golden opportunity to register back-to-back league wins for only the third time this season. Despite that heartbreaking stalemate in Bergamo, Kosta Runjaic’s men trail 10th-placed Lazio by a single point, as they bid to secure a top-half finish for the first time in over a decade.

Indeed, Udinese last finished in the upper half of the Serie A table in the 2012/13 season, with their best league finish since then being 11th. With eighth-placed Bologna only three points away, this feels like the best chance for the Friulians to finally break into the top half and end a decade-long wait for a stronger league finish.

Juventus’ upcoming visit to Udine is likely to put Udinese’s top-half credentials to the test, with the Bianconeri fighting tooth and nail to avoid the ignominy of finishing outside the top four for only the second time since the 2011/12 campaign. Sitting a point adrift of fourth-placed Como, Luciano Spalletti can ill-afford a slip-up at the Bluenergy Stadium, especially considering the Lariani will face fifth-placed Roma tomorrow.

The record-time Italian champions should take this trip in high spirits after battering relegation-threatened Pisa at home last weekend. Despite a scoreless halftime score, the Turin giants hammered the Nerazzurri 4-0 at the Allianz Stadium, snapping an underwhelming four-game winless league streak (D2, L2).

Match Preview

Udinese

Udinese may have dropped two valuable points at the Gewiss Stadium last Saturday, but they can still go three consecutive Serie A games without losing for the first time since October. However, that could prove easier said than done, given that they’ve suffered nine defeats in 15 league clashes against sides starting this round in the top half (W4, D2).

On a more positive note, the Friulians have emerged victorious from three of their five home matches against the current top seven this term (L2), keeping a clean sheet in each victory. Another standout result will require Udinese to maintain their focus after the break, as 13 of their 18 home league goals conceded this season came in the second half.

Nevertheless, they’ve recently been fun to watch, with four of their last five Serie A outings producing over 2.5 goals. Topically, October’s reverse fixture in Turin yielded a 3-1 win for Juventus, who subsequently beat Udinese 2-0 in the Coppa Italia in December, highlighting just how challenging this match-up could be for Runjaic’s top-half-bidding side.

Juventus

This fixture has been highly favorable for Juventus in recent years, with the Bianconeri besting Udinese in eight of their last nine meetings (L1). Furthermore, each of their five most recent head-to-head victories has come by multi-goal margins, while it’s also worth noting that they’ve won their last three visits to the Bluenergy Stadium without conceding.

Against this backdrop, Spalletti’s men have conceded 3+ goals in their last four away games across all competitions (D1, L3), so another shutout here is far from a foregone conclusion. At least Juventus have fared better on the road against lower-ranked opposition, with each of their six away league wins this season coming against teams currently below them in the table (D2, L2).

Spalletti might appreciate a bit more urgency from his players in the early stages of the game, knowing that 25 of Juve’s 50 Serie A goals this season came beyond the hour mark. However, the visitors have netted only 33% of their away league goals so far in the first half of play (7/21).

Team News

Nicolo Bertola, Jordan Zemura, and long-term absentee Alessandro Zanoli are all unavailable for Udinese. Still, key first-team stars Arthur Atta and Oumar Solet will be in contention for the starting XI, with free-scoring Keinan Davies expected to join Nicolo Zaniolo in attack, seeking his tenth Serie A goal of the season.

On the other hand, Juventus are still without star striker Dusan Vlahovic and winter signing Emil Holm. Despite his disappointing first season in Italy’s top flight, Jonathan David is likely to lead the line again, with Lois Openda largely failing to live up to expectations.

Udinese vs Juventus Potential Starting Lineups

Udinese (3-5-2): Okoye; Kristensen, Kabasele, Solet; Ehizibue, Ekkelenkamp, Karlstrom, Atta, Kamara; Zaniolo, Davis.

Juventus (4-2-3-1): Perin; Kalulu, Bremer, Kelly, Cambiaso; Thuram, Locatelli; Conceicao, McKennie, Yildiz; David.

Udinese vs Juventus Prediction

Juventus must avoid another embarrassment if they’re to stay relevant in the top-four race, and we back them to do just that. With little to play for, Udinese may struggle to match the visitors’ urgency and motivation in this contest. Therefore, we expect the  Turin heavyweights to extend their dominance in this fixture.