Udinese vs Napoli prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2024-05-05 18:45.
[p]This will be a very special match for Udineseās still new coach Fabio Cannavaro as the 2006 FIFA World Champion meets his hometown and childhood club Napoli. Cannavaro oversaw his side gaining an important point against top-four Bologna last round (1-1), but with the Bianconeri starting this round still in the relegation zone with a two-point deficit to safety, he has a very tough task ahead of him in the final four rounds of this Serie A campaign.[/p]
[p]The Stadio Friuli has been anything but a fortress this term, with Udinese winning just once here (D9, L7) and only already relegated Salernitana picking up less than their 12 home points so far. The embattled club have also lost seven of their nine home games against current top-half sides, a record that was worsened when in April they conceded match-deciding goals in the fifth minute of second half stoppage time against both Roma and Ā Inter (L 2-1).[/p]
[p]Napoli couldnāt hold onto a 2-1 lead in the Derby del Sole against Roma last weekend and the 2-2 draw saw their winless streak stretch to three Serie A matches (D2, L1), which left them with a five-point deficit to what is currently the last European spot held by Lazio ahead of this round, though the result of the upcoming Coppa Italia final could send ninth place to the UEFA Europa Conference League play-off round.Ā [/p]
[p]The visitors suffered a demoralising defeat in their last away match against another relegation-threatened opponent, Empoli (L 1-0), which saw club owner Aurelio De Laurentiis leaving the stands after half-time. It forms part of their worrying run of only two wins across their last 12 away matches (D3, L7), which further complicated their pursuit of some kind of European competition next season.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Lazar SamardžiÄ scored Udineseās only goal in the reverse fixture (L 4-1), with four of his last six strikes for the club arriving before the break. Napoliās Victor Osimhen also scored in that match and he now has three goals in his last four outings, with all arriving after the break.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Napoli were trailing at half-time in their last four away matches, also conceding the opener within the first ten minutes in their last two such outings.[/p]