Matchday 16 in Serie A between Udinese and Napoli will take place on December 14 at the Stadio Friuli. Udinese vs. Napoli: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Predicted lineups for Udinese vs. Napoli
Udinese (4-3-3): Maduka Okoye – Răzvan Sava, Kingsley Ehizibue, Lautaro Giannetti, Jaka Bijol – Sandi Lovrić, Jesper Karlström, Oier Zarraga – Florian Thauvin, Jurgen Ekkelenkamp, Lorenzo Lucca.
Napoli (4-3-3): Alex Meret – Amir Rrahmani, Alessandro Buongiorno, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Mathias Olivera – Stanislav Lobotka, André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Scott McTominay – Matteo Politano, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Romelu Lukaku.
Each team's starting lineup from their last match in this tournament is listed.
Udinese
The team ended their five-match winless streak in Serie A (1 draw, 4 losses) by defeating Monza 2-1 in the last round. However, Udinese failed to end their streak of conceding goals in the Italian championship, which has now reached six matches. Despite the win over Monza, the club remains in 9th place in the standings of the top Italian league, but has reduced the gap to the European competition zone to seven points. It is also worth noting that the team has a negative goal difference in the current championship – 18:22.
- The club has scored in 17 of their last 21 Serie A matches.
- The team's uncompromising home streak in the Italian championship includes eight matches (6 wins, 2 losses).
- At least one opponent failed to score in 8 of Udinese's last 10 home matches in the elite Italian league.
Napoli
The Neapolitans lost their previous Serie A match at home to Lazio 0-1, resulting in them losing the top spot in the standings and dropping to second place. Atalanta now leads the championship, two points ahead of Napoli. However, Antonio Conte's side shares the title of the most reliable defensive team in the tournament with Fiorentina and Juventus, having conceded 10 goals. Additionally, Napoli's unbeaten away streak in the top Italian league continues and stands at six matches (4 clean sheet victories and 2 draws).
Forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will be out for about a month due to injury.
- No more than two goals have been scored in 7 of the club's last 8 Serie A matches.
- Napoli has won 7 of their last 10 matches in this tournament (1 draw, 2 losses).
- The team has kept a clean sheet in 5 of their last 6 away matches in the championship.
Udinese vs. Napoli: Match Prediction
The Neapolitans not only lost the championship lead due to their defeat to Lazio, but also lost their attacking leader, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who was injured in that match and will not help the club in the upcoming games. Napoli was already struggling in attack, failing to score more than one goal in their last five Serie A matches. However, thanks to a solid defense, the team picked up points in three of those games. Away from home, the club from Naples plays cautiously at the back, not conceding in 5 of their last 6 championship matches.
Moreover, Antonio Conte's team has not lost away from home for six matches in Serie A. I don't think Udinese, who only ended their winless streak in the last round, will be able to handle one of the tournament leaders. Especially not scoring much against their solid defense. I believe the visitors will continue their unbeaten away run in the championship, and the match should once again be low-scoring.
Even before losing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, matches involving the Neapolitans did not feature many goals. Their last five Serie A matches were low-scoring. Similarly, Udinese matches rarely see a goal fest. In the club's last five championship matches, no more than three goals were scored. Therefore, my prediction is "X2 + Total under 3.5 goals".