Following yet another impressive display against top 3 contenders, Udinese aim to further improve their position in the standings with three points from the home clash against Torino. Granata also go into the game high on confidence having beaten Lazio at home last time out, but they clearly face a tough task in Udine.

Toto Di Natale returns

Francesco Guidolin probably has one of the toughest jobs in football as he is forced to rebuild the squad at Stadio Friuli season after season, but he is doing a brilliant job. And while many were surprised to see Udinese struggle in the opening exchanges, this process was always going to take time, but 15 games into the new league campaign and it appears most of the work is already completed. Nobody at the club is worried by the fact that the Zebrette sit mere four points above the relegation zone given that they usually save their best performances for the second part of the season. And while back to back defeats to Inter and Catania did create unexpected problems, Udinese proved their worth by defeating very good Fiorentina side at home, before outclassing mighty Juventus in Turin, with effervescent Toto Di Natale especially impressive. Even if Friulani were very unlucky to concede a last-gasp goal against the Bianconeri, they impressed to hold Napoli to a 3-3 draw on the road even with the veteran striker missing through injury. However, with the players brimming with confidence after outplaying some of Italy’s best sides and Antonio Di Natale back in the side, another home win looks on the cards.

Antonio Di Natale returns to the starting line-up, but Maurizio Domizzi, Luis Muriel and Marcos Ranegie are all unavailable.

Torino continue to impress

Torino have taken the Serie A by storm ever since they returned to the top flight, with boss Giampiero Ventura expertly guiding his side to mid table two years in a row. All neutral fans have been impressed by team’s attack-minded style of play that has been producing very good results both home and away. I Granata have become some sort of draw specialists, having shared spoils seven times in fifteen league fixtures, although with all those matches producing quite a few goals, it is clear the games could have gone either way. And while Torino continue to impress on home soil, with weekend’s victory over Lazio acting as extra confidence boost, their performances on the road do leave a lot to be desired, with Granata winless in last five away fixtures. That could prove to be the problem as they are now set to face one of the strongest home sides in Serie A that is also playing on top of their game at the moment. The likes of Cerci and Immobile certainly have enough quality to hut the opposition defence, but I doubt they will be seeing much of the ball, with Udinese’s five-man midfield likely to dominate the centre of the park.

Boss Giampiero Ventura has doubts over the fitness of important players Omar El Kaddouri and Danilo D’Ambrosio, whereas Cesare Bovo and Marcelo Larrondo are definitely out.

Verdict

Three strong performances against Italy’s top sides are enough to suggest Udinese are raising their form and their impressive home run looks likely to continue. Torino, too, are showing a great deal of promise, but their poor away form could prevent them from getting something from this match.

Top pick: Home win   1.95 (19/20) @ BetVictor

Alternative pick 1: Under 2.5 goals   1.73 (8/11) @ bet365

Alternative pick 2: Udinese to win to nil   3.25 (9/4) @ Paddy Power