Udinese v Juventus

Udinese vs Juventus Preview

Udinese have been handed a tough opening fixture in this season's Serie A campaign as they play host to Juventus at their Stadio Friuli and the hosts will be desperate to produce a positive start to this new term following a worrying end to last season.

Udinese finished off last season by losing their last four league matches on the trot as they slipped to losses against Fiorentina, Lazio, Salernitana and their upcoming opponents on Sunday night, Juventus.

Indeed, the bigger picture shows Udinese have managed to capture just four wins from their last 19 matches overall in the Italian top flight which were collected against Empoli, AC Milan, Cremonese and Sampdoria, while also being dealt nine defeats in the process as well.

Therefore, the straight win market may be best avoided for this upcoming fixture given Udinese's difficulties in picking up league wins, but the goals market looks appealing here especially as six of Udinese's last 10 matches overall have resulted in Under 2.5 goals, while eight of their last 15 home games have also ended in draws.

Juventus produced a disappointing campaign by their standards as the Old Lady only just claimed the last of the European spots at the end of last season as the visitors finished in seventh place in the Serie A standings.

Juventus also struggled for consistency towards the end of last season as the visitors managed to pick up just four wins out of their last 10 matches which came in the form of victories over Lecce, Atalanta, Cremonese and Udinese but also five defeats as the Old Lady were handed losses by the likes of Lazio, Sassuolo, Napoli, Empoli and AC Milan respectively.

The straight win markets should be avoided where Juventus are concerned as well, but the goals market should be pursued here as seven of Juventus' last 10 matches overall have also resulted in two goals or less scored, and another low-scoring encounter could unfold here at the Stadio Friuli on Sunday evening.

Results away from home also suffered for the visitors as they collected just three wins out of their last eight outings on their travels but goals were also scarce in away games that involved Juventus as six of these previous eight away games also resulted in Under 2.5 goals scored as well.

Udinese v Juventus Verdict

Juventus have held the upper hand in previous exchanges against their hosts, Udinese, as the Old Lady have won five of the last six meetings between these two sides but poor results for both teams towards the end of last season suggest this could be a scrappy and low-scoring affair at the Stadio Friuli.

Indeed, each of the last three encounters have also resulted in Under 2.5 goals so another low-scoring clash could be on the cards here.

Therefore, our main bet will be Under 2.5 goals @ 1.72

Other side bets worth considering:

Draw @ 3.50

Correct score: 1-1 @ 6.50