Udinese vs Lecce prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-10-22 16:30.
Udinese boss Andrea Sottil has been given the dreaded vote of confidence by the club's hierarchy as they resisted the temptation to change manager during the international break. The White and Blacks are yet to win a game in the league this season, with their poor start to the campaign seeing them collect just five points from their opening eight Serie A (SA) matches (D5, L3).
The hope is that back-to-back draws against Genoa and Empoli before club football’s hiatus suggested that a win is just around the corner. However, Udinese’s lack of potency in the final third is a real concern, as their excitement-starved fans have already endured three 0-0 stalemates, while no team outside of the relegation zone ahead of the round has netted fewer than their total of four goals.
That will be music to the ears of opponents Lecce, who have only kept one clean sheet in their last 11 top-flight away games (W2, D3, L6). However, while the Yellow and Reds are winless on their travels this season (D2, L1), they head into the round within striking distance of the European places after collecting 12 of 24 available points, their best return in the opening eight SA rounds since 2004/05 (W3, D3, L2).
Few believe Roberto D'Aversa’s side are capable of truly challenging for the top six, especially after their recent three-game winless run, which includes defeats to Juventus and Napoli before drawing at home to Sassuolo. History suggests they may struggle to turn that around in this fixture too, as they have only beaten Udinese three times in the last 12 H2Hs (D2, L7).
Key battle: Udinese goalkeeper Marco Silvestri has kept two clean sheets in his four top-flight H2Hs (W2, D1, L1). Attempting to put a dent in that record may be visiting striker Nikola Krstović, who has been on the losing side in only one of the last 27 club games in which he has scored (W20, D6).
Hot stat: Lecce have not won a SA away game in which they have conceded first since July 2020 (D3, L11).