Lecce vs Udinese prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-04-27 16:30.
Lecce lost 2-0 to AC Milan last weekend to extend their winless league run to eight matches (D1, L7), although defiant coach Marco Baroni pointed out that his side have āthe determination to improve.ā Thereās certainly room for improvement in the final third, with Lecce scoring only two goals across those eight games and only two Serie A (SA) clubs have scored fewer than their 26 this season. Unless the ādeterminationā Baroni speaks about translates to results, the hosts could be swiftly returning to Serie B, as they start the round just two points above the bottom-three.
The impending danger of relegation can certainly be quelled, but their form at the Stadio Via del Mare hasnāt been encouraging since they posted back-to-back 2-1 home wins over Atalanta and Lazio either side of the World Cup break (D3, L4 since). At least thereās some hope to be taken from the history books, as the Yellow and Reds have proved they can go toe-to-toe with Udinese across 14 SA home H2Hs (W7, D1, L6).
Sitting ten points adrift of seventh place, Udinese are racing against time to keep alive their faltering push for potential European qualification. Their prospects would certainly have been much better if Juventusā point deduction hadnāt been reversed, but ultimately the blame lies on Udinese themselves with an indifferent recent 12-game run (W3, D5, L4) certainly not helping their European push.
Even with their season fading out, coach Andrea Sottil had nothing but pride after his teamās 3-0 win over Cremonese last matchday kept them level with sides who have āa budget of over 80 million euros.ā Encouragingly, they are still in line to post a first top-ten finish since 2012/13, and a visit to Lecce where theyāve won their last two league games should give them confidence to step up and halt their current two-game losing run on the road.
Players to watch: Lecceās Gabriel Strefezza has seen four of his last six SA goals come in matches that eventually ended 2-1 (W2, L2). Meanwhile, Isaac Success rounded off Udineseās scoring in their 3-0 win over Cremonese and has six league assists this season, including one in the reverse H2H.
Hot stat: Excluding draws, 12 of 27 top-flight H2H games have seen a 2-1 scoreline.