Juventus vs Udinese 09/03/19

09 March 2019

Already thinking of their massive Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid, Juventus welcome an improving Udinese team to the Allianz Stadium looking to confirm their dominance in Serie A.

The undisputed league leaders go into this meeting off the back of a tight 2-1 road win over second-placed Napoli to remain the only unbeaten Italian team after 26 fixtures (W23, D3). With their eight successive Serie A title in sight, the hosts look to stretch their three-game winning run against Udinese and expand a 16-point gap on the Blues. The Bianconeri boast an almost perfect home record (W11, D2) having scored over 2.5 match goals in all three of their last SA home clashes. Although they’ve failed to preserve a clean slate in two of their previous four games in Turin – conceding four goals along the way, the reigning holders (8) still have the second-best defensive home record in the Italian top tier. Also, Massimiliano Allegri’s players have been ruthless against the bottom-six teams, scoring 20 goals while allowing three in eight wins this campaign.

Not long ago, the visitors have been dancing on the edge of a cliff, but back-to-back triumphs in the previous two Serie A matchdays have seen them creating a comfortable seven-point gap on 18th-placed Bologna. Although the Friulians pulled off two consecutive league victories for the first time this season, they have failed to wrap up all three points on eight successive SA road trips (D3, L5) as they remain one of weakest away sides in the Italian top flight (W1, D4, L6). Furthermore, Davide Nicola’s men have struggled to find the back of the net in five straight SA road outings, while conceding six goals in the process. As a result of their stubborn defending, four of Udinese’s last five away meetings have produced under 1.5 goals.