Inter Milan vs Udinese

Inter Milan’s pursuit of a sixth consecutive top-four finish in Serie A continues at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza against European hopefuls Udinese.

Despite unleashing 25+ shots on goal, Inter Milan failed to score in such circumstances for only the third time in Serie A history, playing out a dismal 0-0 draw against Sampdoria last time out. In addition to falling 15 points behind top-placed Napoli, ‘I Nerazzurri’ now must fear for their top-four chances, with fifth-placed AC Milan only three points adrift. Back to Meazza, where they’ve won three of their four league matches in 2023 by an identical 1-0 scoreline (L1), Simone Inzaghi’s men will aim to reboot ahead of their Champions League clash against Porto. Udinese’s visit to Lombardy bodes well, with Inter racking up four consecutive H2H league wins at home by an aggregate score of 9-1.

On the other hand, visiting Udinese wasted two separate first-half leads in an enthralling 2-2 home draw against Sassuolo last weekend, stretching their winless run in Serie A to three matches (D2, L1). Despite trailing sixth-placed Lazio by nine points at the start of this round, the ‘Friulians’ can still reach next season’s European competition via a seventh-place finish, at least in theory. Andrea Sottil’s men have established themselves as ‘stalemate kings’ this term, drawing a league joint-high nine Serie A fixtures. By contrast, none of their last four away games in the top-flight have ended level (W1, L3), with each result (win/loss) in this sequence yielding a single-goal margin. Moreover, Udinese’s traditionally slow starts have seen them concede a league-high eight goals inside the opening 15 minutes this season.