The action resumes in Italy after a short break over the New Year period as Chievo Verona entertain Udinese at the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi. Chievo Verona come into this match desperate for a win, having forgotten what it is like to pick up maximum points in recent games. Given their current position of 13th in Serie A, they could easily challenge for a place in the top half or be sucked into a relegation battle.
Udinese will be hoping to use this game to climb above Sampdoria into 6th place in Serie A. With Italy having four Champions League places, 6th place will mean qualification to the Europa League.
Serie A – Friday 5th January – 17:00
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Draw Best Odd of: 21/8 at Coral |
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Chievo Verona
UdineseChievo Verona Form
Chievo Verona come into this match in dreadful form and have failed to win any of their previous 6 matches in all competitions. Having enjoyed a decent spell which saw them lose just 2 of 11 games in all competitions, the defeat to Hellas Verona in the Copa Italia on penalties has seen Chievo Verona enter a slump.
Since the loss to Hellas Verona in the Coppa Italia, Chievo Verona have lost 4 and drawn 1 of their 5 Serie A games. There have been defeats at Inter Milan, Crotone and home to Bologna. However, the most embarrassing loss came at Benevento in their last match, a result which handed Benevento their first win of the season.
Both teams have scored in 11 of Chievo Verona’s last 13 home Serie A games but they have failed to score in 4 of their last 5 league matches.
Udinese Form
Udinese were disappointed to lose out in the quarter-final of the Coppa Italia to Napoli but have been in excellent form in Serie A. Massimo Oddo’s team have won each of their last 5 Serie A matches which have included good wins at Inter Milan and Bologna. There have also been wins at Crotone and at home against Benevento and Hellas Verona.
Away form has also been good for Udinese and they have won their last 4 away Serie A games in a row. Prior to the wins over Crotone, inter Mila and Bologna, Udinese defeated Sassuolo 1-0 and it was this result which started their great run of away wins.
Interestingly, both teams have scored in 7 of Udinese’s last 9 away league games.
Team News
Chievo Verona come into this match without central midfielder Lucas Castro who is out until February. However, every other player should be available but full-back Nenad Tomovic is one yellow card away from suspension.
Udinese also have the bulk of their players available with Rodrigo Aguirre the only man set to miss out thanks to a meniscus injury.
Top Betting Tips
Udinese are starting this match in great form and will be confident of picking up maximum points against a Chievo Verona team who have been struggling in recent weeks. Udinese to win is 6/4 with Ladbrokes.
The one problem facing Udinese has been the number of goals they have conceded away from home but this match presents a great opportunity to keep a clean sheet, just as they did at Sassuolo and Crotone. Udinese to win to nil is 16/5 at William Hill.
Udinese have scored 3 goals twice and 2 goals once in their previous three away Serie A games. You can get 7/5 with Coral for Udinese to score 2 or more goals in this match.