Coach Bortolo Murri somehow kept his job despite taking just one point from last four games, but he could easily be sacked if Palermo fail to win this game. Udinese missed a great opportunity to boost their Champions League hopes as they picked up just two points from last three games, but the Zebrette can make a giant step towards the third place in the standings with three points from Renzo Barbera.

Major defensive headache for Mutti

Even after losing their last two home games to Milan and Roma, Palermo boast the second best home record in Serie A with 10 wins from 14 games, but the problem is they are the worst travelers not only in Italy, but in the entire Europe, having failed to win any of their 14 away games this season. The dismal record on the travels has started to put a real pressure on the side when they play at Renzo Barbera, as everybody at the club is aware that the Rosanero need to keep winning their home games if they are to achieve a respectable finish to the season. The team are currently going through a very rough patch, seeing they picked up just one point from last four games, and coach Bortolo Mutti is well aware of the fact that he is likely to be sacked if Palermo don’t win this game. In Ilicic, Miccoli and Hernandez, the hosts have enough firepower to hurt Udinese’s weakened defence, but their own back line will be under big pressure in the absence of several starting defenders.

Ezequiel Munoz and Nicolas Bertolo are suspended, whereas Matias Silvestre and Giulio Migliaccio are sidelined through injury. Ermin Bacinovic is doubtful.

Udinese showing improvement

Udinese have found it hard to cope with the busy schedule and numerous injuries to the playing squad over the last couple of weeks, and that was certainly the main reason behind team’s elimination from Europa League and several under-par results in Serie A. The good news is that the busy schedule is finally over, whereas coach Francesco Guidolin can be satisfied with how his side played against AZ Alkmaar and Udinese. The 2-1 win over Dutch side didn’t prove enough for a place in the Europa League quarter-finals, whereas the Zebrette squandered a two-goal lead against Napoli, but only after Diego Fabbrini was sent off on the hour mark. The Friulani now travel to infamous Renzo Barbera, whereas Palermo are a real force to be reckoned with, but Udinese will fancy their chances after seeing both Milan and Roma bring all three points from Sicily.

Dusan Basta should return to the side after recovering from injury, but Maurizio Domizzi, Antonio Floro Flores and Diego Fabbrini are all banned. Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Mauricio Isla and Mehdi Benatia miss out through injury.

Verdict

Both sides desperately need to win this game in order to keep their ambitions alive and everything suggests we will see a very open game at Renzo Barbera. With both teams missing several important defenders and boasting impressive attacking departments, we should see goals galore in Palermo.

Our prediction: Over 2.5 goals

Odds: 1.81 (13/16)

Bookmaker: Betfair