Fiorentina vs Udinese

Fiorentina and Udinese are set to trade tackles at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in a tasty-looking Serie A clash.

Despite succumbing to a 1-0 defeat at Sassuolo in their curtain-raising 2024 fixture last weekend, Fiorentina’s 33-point haul places them in fourth at the start of this round, marking the club’s second-best tally at this point of a top-flight campaign in over a decade. Vincenzo Italiano’s side won’t be lacking confidence after eking out a penalty shoot-out win over Bologna in midweek Coppa Italia action (0-0). However, entertainment has been at a premium in Fiorentina’s recent matches, as each of the last five has featured under 1.5 goals, highlighting the potential for a low-scoring affair. Adding to this sentiment, 11 of their previous 13 competitive encounters against Udinese have featured under 2.5 goals, including a 2-0 win in this corresponding fixture last season.

Visiting Udinese experienced a false start to the new calendar year, slumping to a 2-1 home defeat to Lazio as their bid to secure Serie A survival continues to hang in the balance. Only two points clear of 18th-placed Cagliari at the beginning of this round, Gabriele Cioffi’s men will be out to bounce back and avoid losing back-to-back league matches for only the second time this season. But though they’ve proved hard to beat in succession, Udinese’s propensity for sharing the spoils has hindered their campaign, with no side posting more Serie A draws than them (11). ‘Stalemate specialists’ probably wouldn’t mind extending that infamous record here, knowing they’ve lost 14 of their last 15 top-flight games in Florence (W1)!