Udinese vs Bologna prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-01-14 14:00.
The winter break has done nothing to soothe Udinese’s woeful league form as a 1-0 defeat to Juventus last time out extended their winless run to ten games (D6, L4) dating back to October 2022. Andrea Sottil’s men remain in the top-half courtesy of six straight wins prior to their drop off, but with this their longest winless run in Serie A (SA) since a 14-game stretch in 2018, that position is looking perilous.
Swirling rumours around the immediate future of Gerard Deulofeu won’t help Udinese’s push to cement a top-half spot, but their home form will, with the Friulians losing only once here in SA action this season (W3, D4, L1). The potential loss of one player wouldn’t necessarily be catastrophic for the collective Udinese group either, as seven different players have scored each of their last seven SA goals!
Similarly frustrated since SA resumed, Bologna have fallen to back-to-back defeats since their return, albeit both times by a mere single-goal margin. Manager Thiago Motta was bemused in the aftermath of the most recent 2-1 defeat to Atalanta after his side took the lead after six minutes, stating that his side “have to be in the game for the full 90 minutes” as he seeks a reaction here.
Though five points worse off than at the same stage of last season, Bologna’s cushion to the drop zone is enough that their focus can remain on looking up the table, and they could close the gap to the top-half with a victory. Such an outcome would perhaps be a shock though given Bologna have won just once on their SA travels this season (W1, D1, L6) and emerged triumphant in just one of the last 13 SA away H2Hs (W1, D6, L6).
Players to watch: Just one of Udinese forward Beto’s six goals this season served to open the scoring, yet four made the scoreline 1-1. On the other hand, Riccardo Orsolini has been crucial for Bologna, contributing to goals in four of his last six appearances (G3, A1).
Hot stat: Udinese have picked up more points than any side in Europe’s top-five leagues from losing positions this season (W4, D4, L4).