Udinese vs Chievo

February 7, 2014
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Having finally ended a disappointing run of results, Udinese will be looking to create an extra cushion between them and the bottom three when they host out-of-sorts Chievo. The Flying Donkeys are dangerously close to the relegation zone, meaning they would probably settle for one point from Friuli.

Zebrette back in business

Due to club’s transfer policy that every player is for sale, Francesco Guidolin is forced to rebuild the squad every summer, but this time that process has taken much longer than usually. This has seen Udinese crash out of Europe early on while also slipping into the danger zone in Italian Serie A. Nevertheless, with the quality at his disposal, it was only a matter of time before the Zebrette came good, and it appears they are finally back on the right track. Coppa Italia triumph over AC Milan acted as a major confidence boost and while Udinese were unable to avoid defeat to Parma at Ennio Tardini, they enjoyed an impressive 2-0 away win over Bologna in the very next game. And with the team having also beaten very good Fiorentina side in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final clash, we can safely say Francesco Guidolin’s side are back in business. All that’s left now is for the Friulani to move further away from the relegation zone and home game against struggling Chievo will feel as a perfect opportunity for that. The hosts may be missing some important players, but that is unlikely to be a problem after their back-ups impressed in Coppa Italia clashes against Milan and Fiorentina.

Giampiero Pinzi and Allan are both suspended, whilst Francesco Benussi is out and Zeljko Brkic is doubtful with a back problem.

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Tough times for Chievo

Despite flirting with relegation on regular basis, Chievo have so far succeeded in keeping their Serie A status, but it looks as though this is a season when they could finally go down. Following a disappointing run of results that saw them slip into the danger zone, the club management have recruited quite a few new players in the January window, but I am not sure that was the right thing to do. Even with most of them arriving from Serie A clubs, new signings cannot be really expected to hit the ground running immediately, which is why the heavy recruitment could bring more harm then good. This is clearly a difficult time to be a Chievo player, with the Flying Donkeys winless in last eight matches in all competitions and no doubt they will be under pressure at Friuli. It appears that problems are just mounting for boss Eugenio Corini as he could be without up to four important players against Udinese. Taking also into account that his side have only registered 6 goals in 11 away fixtures this season, it is perfectly clear Chievo face a difficult task on Saturday evening.

Nicolas Frey and Ivan Radovanovic are suspended, whereas Dario Dainelli is injured and Perparim Hetemaj is doubtful.

Verdict

Udinese only needed a couple of good results in a row to restore the lost confidence and having won three of last four matches, the Zebrette can be trusted to see off Chievo as well. Meanwhile, the Flying Donkeys are in all sorts of problems and I just don’t see how they are going to get something out of this game.

Top pick: Home win   1.87 (20/23) @ BetVictor

Alternative pick 1: Under 2.5 goals   1.67 (2/3) @ Stan James

Alternative pick 2: Udinese to win to nil   2.88 (17/9) @ Paddy Power

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