Football – Italy – Serie A
Sunday 14th December 2014 – Kickoff: 1400hrs
Udinese recorded a much-needed three points away at out-of-sorts Inter Milan last weekend when they scored a 2-1 win which kept them in the top half of Serie A.
This afternoon’s hosts had previously gone five league matches without a win on the back of draws with Palermo and Chievo Verona along with defeats against Fiorentina, Genoa and AC Milan (although three of these recent five matches were away from home).
Nevertheless, a 2-1 win at Inter Milan will have been a most welcome boost for Udinese who will now be keen to register back-to-back wins when they entertain bottom half club Hellas today. Udinese’s home record stands at 4-2-1 13/8 with their one defeat coming against surprise package and third placed Genoa.
But previous wins over Empoli, Parma and Atalanta as well as fifth placed Napoli were solid victories while their forwards Di Natale (7 goals) and Thereau (5 goals) look to be good anytime goalscorer bets.
Visitors Hellas Verona go into this afternoon’s encounter hoping to avoid a fourth consecutive Serie A defeat on the back of losses against Fiorentina, Sassuolo and Sampdoria (of which two were suffered at home).
Overall, Hellas have now gone eight matches without a league win as they have slowly drifted down the league table to their current position of 15th. Indeed, their last win was a narrow 1-0 home win over third from bottom club Cagliari back in early October.
On the road, Hellas Verona’s record stands at 1-3-3 7/13 following five away matches without a win which also includes conceding six goals to Napoli in a recent 6-2 thrashing. Their only success so far came at fourth from bottom club Torino in a 1-0 win back in September.
Last weekend’s win at Inter Milan will have given Udinese a big boost ahead of today’s match and I fancy them to continue this form against Hellas Verona today although I do advise exercising some caution and give the quarter ball on the hosts. Udinese could take this perhaps 2-1 though.
Pick: Udinese AH-0.25 @ 1.70 Bet Victor
