The teams known for frequent draws in Serie A are scheduled to clash on Saturday afternoon, as Udinese and Torino converge at the Bluenergy Stadium.
Despite securing a victory against Lazio in their previous fixture, Udinese finds themselves in a precarious position near the relegation zone. Meanwhile, Torino is focused on securing a placement within the top half of the league standings.
Match preview
When Udinese clinches a rare victory, it often sparks an unexpected turn of events: the Friuli club has only secured four wins out of 28 Serie A matches this season, but each triumph has been against teams contending for European qualification.
Following notable away victories against Juventus and AC Milan, along with a convincing 3-0 win over fourth-placed Bologna, Gabriele Cioffi’s squad added another notable achievement on Monday by defeating Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico. This victory resulted in the departure of Lazio manager Maurizio Sarri. Udinese secured a 2-1 win with goals from Lorenzo Lucca and Oier Zarraga, further distancing themselves from the relegation zone.
Seeking consecutive league victories for the first time in a year, Udinese aims to address their historical inability to convert single points into three.
Udinese (15) and Torino (11) have registered the highest number of draws in Serie A this season, including a 1-1 draw in the December fixture. Additionally, Udinese tops this statistic across Europe’s major five leagues.
Ahead of Saturday’s match, Torino is experiencing a recent downturn, having secured only two points from their last four games, losing ground in the race for European qualification.
After defeats to Roma and Lazio, followed by low-scoring draws in subsequent matches, Torino’s struggle to score goals has become evident, with only four teams netting fewer goals.
Under coach Ivan Juric, Torino tends to falter against top-tier teams but consistently triumphs against lower-ranked opponents. Impressively, they have yet to lose to any team currently in the bottom half of the standings, conceding only four goals in these encounters.
With a balanced record of wins and draws in 14 matches against such opponents, Juric’s team should approach the upcoming fixture in Udine with confidence, given Torino’s favorable recent record, having lost only once in their last six visits to Udinese’s home ground.
Team News
Udinese manager Gabriele Cioffi is poised to welcome back Festy Ebosele and Walace following their one-match suspensions, though the team will be without Nehuen Perez due to his dismissal in the recent victory over Lazio, necessitating his serving of a suspension.
Absentees Enzo Ebosse and Gerard Deulofeu, who have been sidelined for an extended period, are expected to remain unavailable for selection on Saturday. However, the team can rely on the prowess of Lorenzo Lucca, their leading scorer with seven goals, who will be seeking to extend his scoring streak in consecutive Serie A matches.
Torino, on the other hand, are grappling with multiple absences in their defensive ranks. Koffi Djidji, Adrien Tameze, and Perr Schuurs are all sidelined due to respective injuries, while Matteo Lovato is doubtful due to a muscular issue.
In a positive development for Torino, Italy midfielder Samuele Ricci is set to return from suspension, potentially filling in for Gvidas Gineitis in the midfield.
Upfront, Duvan Zapata, Torino’s top scorer, is anticipated to lead the attack alongside last week’s goal-scorer Antonio Sanabria. Zapata has a formidable record against Udinese, having netted six goals in Serie A encounters, including his maiden hat-trick in Italian football.
Udinese possible starting lineup:
Okoye; Ferreira, Giannetti, Kristensen; Pereyra, Lovric, Walace, Zarraga, Kamara; Thauvin; Lucca
Torino possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Sazonov, Buongiorno, Rodriguez; Bellanova, Linetty, Ricci, Lazaro; Vlasic; Sanabria, Zap