AC Milan vs Udinese 03/04/19

3 April 2019

AC Milan welcome relegation-threatened Udinese to the Stadio San Siro looking to return to winning ways after back-to-back Serie A defeats.

A pair of failures in their last two SA outings has seen Milan’s chances of reaching one of the Champions League places compromised. The hosts currently reside fourth with a three-point lead over fifth-placed Atalanta and have to pick up all three points against a team whom they’ve managed to beat only twice in five of their previous H2Hs at this venue (W2, D1, L2). But, before suffering a 3-2 loss to arch-rivals Inter Milan, the Rossoneri have pulled off four wins in five SA home outings (W4, D1), scoring nine goals while conceding just one. Gennaro Gattuso’s players boast third joint-best defensive record in the Italian top tier (27), with only five teams keeping more clean sheets than Milan (9) so far.

Meanwhile, although the visitors secured a vital 2-0 home win over Genoa last time out, they are still frantically looking over their shoulders as they sit just four points above 18th-placed Bologna. Udinese’s dreadful road form can be a major obstacle for the Friulians considering they’ve clinched only one win on 13 SA road trips this campaign (W1, D4, L8). Furthermore, the Little Zebras have suffered four straight SA away losses prior to this round, allowing four goals per match three times in the process. Another setback for Igor Tudor is his team’s lackluster displays in the final third that has seen them failed to score in six of 13 SA away fixtures.