Italian Serie A
2011-12-21 - Udinese vs Juventus
A Sports Betting Pick by Lamps
Football : Italy : Serie A
Wednesday 21st December - Kickoff 7:45pm
Udinese
The Bianconeri square off against the Bianconeri on Wednesday in a top of the table clash between 2nd placed Juve and 3rd Udinese. Francesco Guidolin's side is having a great season and a win over a very good Juve side will take them back to the top of the Serie A table.
After failing to qualify for the Champions League group stage I did fear the worst for this side but fair play to them. Udinese has won 9 of their 15 games, remains unbeaten at home and only has 2 defeats on the road.
The Stadio Friuli is a tough stadium to visit with Udinese a perfect 7 from 7 here. Guidolin's side are the toughest side to play away from home and despite Juve having a good season themselves it's going to be a real struggle for the away side.
Udinese has wins over Fiorentina (2-0), Bologna (2-0), Novara (3-0), Palermo (1-0), Siena (2-1), Roma (2-0) and Chievo (2-1). 5 of these wins have been to nil which is very impressive whilst Udinese has scored at least 2 goals in 6 of their 7 games and carry a huge goal threat.
One of the best strikers in the league is Di Natale, the pint sized striker has 13 goals this season and comes into this game full of confidence. The Italian has this great record of scoring in every home game this season and 8 of this goals have come at the Stadio Fiuli. If Udinese score it's incredibly likely that this man will be the scorer.
Juventus
Conte's Juve has been transformed this season pushing hard for the title when in recent years they have struggled for a top 6 finish. On Wednesday they travel to Udinese knowing an away win takes them top.
Juve are yet to taste defeat in the league this season having won 9 of their 15 games with 6 draws. On Wednesday we will see Juves 3rd best away ranked side visit the best home side in the division and I think it's impossible to pick a winner here.
Juve's away form is good, 3 wins from 7 and 4 draws. The draws were at Catania (1-1), Chievo (0-0), Napoli (3-3) and Roma (1-1) all against sides that are tough to face on the road. The draw in Napoli was impressive with Juve 2-0 down at one point and this side has a lot of fight in them. Under Conte Juve are much tougher mentally and won't fear Udinese, they will attack and like the home side Juve has goals in them.
In their wins at Siena (0-1), Inter (1-2) and Lazio (0-1) Juve has relied on their tight defence. But they do have 9 away goals in 7 games at an average of over a goal a game. Including their home games Juve has amassed 27 goals in their 15 games at an average of nearly 2 a game and as a result I see Juve getting at least one at the Stadio Friuli.
The Betting Verdict
The last 4 encounters have been over between the 2 sides in Udine. In those last 4 the sides are split with 2 wins a piece and as I mentioned above picking a winner looks really tough to predict.
I'm going to stick with the goals markets for this game. The away side has 8 unders in their last 10 away games whilst Udinese has a split of 3-3 for unders and overs in their last 6. Overall it's hard to really select an over or under pick.
Instead the best angle is both to score. Udinese's home form is too good to ignore and with Di Natale on fire I can't see Juve keeping them/him out for the full 90 minutes.
At the other end Juve has scored in 6 of their last 7 away games and with Conte saying his side won't go looking for a draw I fancy them to get one themselves. Keep stakes low as this looks a better game to watch than bet on but Both to Score is the pick.
Good Luck
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Udinese 1-1 Juventus
