Udinese vs Monza prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2024-02-02 14:00.
Despite having identified and banned for life those fans who addressed racist shouts to Milan’s goalkeeper Mike Maignan, Udinese will have to play their home match against Monza behind closed doors. Punishment comes at the wrong time for the hosts, who lost their last Serie A match against Atalanta and start this round above the relegation zone on goal difference alone.
Udinese have paid dearly for a league-high 14 goals conceded beyond the 75th minute, which forced their coach Gabriele Cioffi to come up with the idea that himself and the staff would run “naked onto the field in the 75th minute, which will provide the shock that will wake up” his squad. Unfortunately, he hasn’t had the opportunity to try it yet as the Bianconeri were two goals down before the interval last time out!
The return of first-choice Monza goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio brought with it a clean sheet victory against Sassuolo. Boss Raffaele Palladino would’ve been ecstatic to have his number one back after seeing his side concede a whopping ten goals across the two and half matches without their injured goalkeeper.
The Biancorossi required just a single shot on target to see off Sassuolo, but improvements up front wouldn’t go amiss as only four teams have scored less than their 21 Serie A goals this term ahead of this round. That rings especially true on the road, where Monza have blanked in three of their last four away league matches (W1, D1, L2).
Players to watch: Lorenzo Lucca has scored four of his seven competitive goals this season for Udinese after the break, including the equaliser in the reverse fixture. That match saw Andrea Colpani open the scoring, making up part of five of his seven league goals this season to arrive before the break, but none of them came in away matches.
Hot stat: Monza have conceded a league-high five opening goals before the 15th minute on the road.