Udinese vs Inter Milan

Runaway Serie A leaders Inter Milan travel to the Bluenergy Stadium to encounter relegation-battling Udinese in a lopsided league contest.

Udinese’s bid to secure Serie A survival took a tumble last week as a 1-1 draw against second-from-bottom Sassuolo left them only two points clear of the drop zone. It was their 16th league stalemate this season! However, given the circumstances, manager Gabriele Cioffi would probably embrace another point with open arms, not least because his men have drawn a blank in eight of their last 12 meetings with Inter, including a humiliating 4-0 defeat in December’s reverse fixture. Despite picking up their only win in their six most recent league H2Hs (L5) in this match-up in 2022/23, playing Udine will not improve the home side’s chances of upsetting the odds. In addition to going winless in all six Serie A outings at the Bluenergy Stadium in 2024 (D3, L3), they’ve netted under 1.5 goals in five!

Meanwhile, Udinese’s profligacy plays straight into Inter’s hands, with ‘I Nerazzurri’ taking this trip as the division’s best defense, having conceded a league-low 14 goals while keeping a league-high 19 clean sheets after the first 30 rounds. Simone Inzaghi’s men have shown no mercy on the road, dropping points on just two of their 14 Serie A travels this season (W12, D2) while winning their last five away league matches by an aggregate score of 15-3. Maintaining that trend would see Inter re-establish a 14-point cushion at the table’s summit and bring them one step closer to capturing a landmark 20th Serie A title. They’ll accept nothing less, knowing they had gone unbeaten in nine consecutive top-flight H2Hs (W7, D2) before slumping to a 3-1 defeat last season.