Juventus will be looking to get back to winning ways when they host Udinese in Serie A on Monday. The Bianconeri suffered a 1-0 defeat to Inter Milan in their last outing, which was their first loss in the competition since mid-September.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side are currently four points adrift of top spot, but they have a game in hand on their rivals. They will be confident of getting three points against Udinese, who have struggled for form this season.
Udinese are in 18th place in the table, just one point above the relegation zone. They have won only two games all season, and they have the worst away record in the league.
The last time Udinese won only two games after 23 Serie A matches was in 1979/80. They eventually survived that season, but only because Milan and Lazio were relegated due to a match-fixing scandal.
The visitors cannot rely on a similar situation this time around, and they will need to start picking up points quickly. They are without a win in five away league matches (2D, 3L), and they have conceded five goals after the 80th minute in that time.
Juventus have won their last eight home matches against Udinese, scoring exactly four goals in three of the last six meetings.
Key Players:
Federico Gatti: The Juventus defender scored an own goal in the last match, but he has also scored three winning goals in Serie A this season, all of which have come in the second half.
Lazar Samardžić: The Udinese forward has scored seven of his ten goals for the club after half-time.
Hot stat: No team in Serie A has scored fewer away goals in the first half than Udinese this season (1).
Prediction: Juventus 2-0 Udinese
Juventus are strong favorites to win this match. They have a good home record against Udinese, and they will be looking to get back to winning ways after their defeat to Inter. Udinese are struggling for form, and they have a poor away record. I predict a 2-0 win for Juventus.
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