Verona vs Udinese prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2025-01-03 19:45.
[p]The New Year celebrations will have been a little bit sweeter for Verona fans thanks to their side easing fears of being relegated from Serie A. A heavy defeat to Empoli in early December (4-1 at home) left the Yellow and Blues inside the bottom three, but two victories in three matches since then (L1) meant they had built up a four-point cushion down to the danger zone ahead of this round.[/p]
[p]But both of those wins were on the road, the most recent of which was a 3-2 success over Bologna in their final match of 2024. Manager Paolo Zanetti said that performance showed his side “have made great strides,” but that has not necessarily transferred to Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi, where Verona lost three successive matches for the first time since November 2023, conceding a whopping ten goals in the process![/p]
[p]Ending that run might be unlikely against opponents Udinese, who have lost just three of the last 15 H2Hs (W6, D6), albeit one of the three reversals was in the corresponding fixture last season. The Bianconeri were battling against relegation at that point, but the same cannot be said of the current campaign, where they sit comfortably in mid-table after a recent run of one defeat in four top flight outings (W2, D1).[/p]
[p]Their latest game was a 2-2 draw against Torino, when Kosta Runjaić’s side let slip a two-goal lead in what the manager admitted “wasn’t our best match.” Worryingly, it was also their tenth fixture across all competitions without a clean sheet, but that does not seem to be hampering Udinese too much on the road, as they have won their last two away fixtures, beating both Fiorentina and Monza 2-1.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Casper Tengstedt’s strike for Verona against Bologna last outing means his last five goals have all come before half-time. Fighting him for a place on the scoresheet will be Udinese’s Lorenzo Lucca, who has lost just one of the last 20 competitive matches in which he has netted (W13, D6).[/p]
[p]Hot streak: Each of Udinese’s last five away league games saw both teams score, while four featured 3+ goals.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Matt Jones[/i][/p]