Prediction: Juventus vs Udinese

Prediction: Juventus win

Best Odds: 3/4

Bookmaker: 888sport

Serie A football is back and as is the case with plenty of other leagues across Europe, they’ve got a lot of catching up to do after the winter break. Italian football, in a lot of ways, is starting to make a real comeback in terms of its prestige – and it’ll be interesting to see if they can maintain that momentum. Today, we’ll be taking a look at what should be a fun clash between Juventus and Udinese this weekend.

Juventus

Juventus fans have gotten used to a certain standard of living. As such, the last two years or so have been fairly disappointing. The Old Lady hasn’t been able to recapture the magic they once had just yet and while they do appear to be slowly piecing things back together, it may not be enough. There’s a lot of pressure on their shoulders and being able to manage it could define their entire campaign.

Team News

Vlahovic is still expected to miss out through injury here with Cuadrado and Pogba both being long term absences.

Udinese

Udinese have spent the last few years floating around midtable and this season, they look set to do the same. With that being said, their experienced squad is going through a rough patch of form right now and even with that being the case, they aren’t a million miles off of the European spots. If they can start to string a run of positive results together, you never know where they could end up come May.

Team News

Masina may well be ruled out for the season with Deulofeu’s fitness being in doubt due to a foot injury.

Factors to Consider

• Juventus are 3rd in Serie A whereas Udinese are 8th.
• Juventus have won five and drawn one of their last six games.
• Udinese have drawn four and lost two of their last six games.
• Juventus have scored nine goals and conceded one in their last six games.
• Udinese have scored six goals and conceded eight in their last six games.

Conclusion

While this feels like the perfect setup for a surprise result, we think the roll Juve have been on as of late – as well as their solid defensive record – will ensure they just about edge their way through with a victory. It certainly isn’t going to come easy and it’ll probably only be a 1-0 scoreline, but they’ll continue to put pressure on the top two and ease some stress on the players after a difficult start to the campaign.

Prediction: Juventus win

Best Odds: 3/4

Bookmaker: 888sport