The match between two in-form sides should bring us a lot of excitement, especially as neither team can be fully satisfied with their current league position. Udinese aim to finally escape the bottom part of the standings, whereas Genoa would be happy to remain in the top half after this round.

Finally some improvement from Udinese

It appears Francesco Guidolin was spot on when saying that his side would be fighting for survival in Italian Serie A this season, as he clearly wasn’t happy with the standard of players who had been brought to replace Samir Handanovic, Mauricio Isla, Kwadwo Asamoah and Antonio Floro Flores. The Zebrette have had a really slow start to the season, failing to win any of their first seven games, but the 2-1 victory over Milan was certainly seen as a major confidence boost. Taking into account the good showings against Anzhi and Torino, we can safely say the Friulani are raising their form, and I have no doubts the hosts will give everything to beat Genoa and further improve their league position. The fact that Antonio Di Natale has finally found his scoring boots can give the hosts an additional boost of confidence, but nobody can guarantee the back line can keep their second clean sheet of the season after conceding in eight of nine games this term.

Luis Muriel and Maurizio Domizzi are out injured, whereas Diego Fabbrini and Dusan Basta are rated doubtful.

Genoa on the rise

Following what was a very disappointing season for the club, Genoa officials managed to build a very talented squad despite operating on a limited budget, with new boss Luigi De Canio doing well to get this team playing the way they should. His attack-minded approach helped the team score in every one of their five league games, but it also left the back line overly exposed at times. Nonetheless, having taken 7 points from first 5 games and showing a lot of promise in defeats to Catania and Juventus, the Grifone have every reason to feel optimistic ahead of the trip to Udine, even if they missed a great opportunity to beat Parma in midweek. With attacking partnership of Marco Borriello and Ciro Immobile looking really good, there is every chance Genoa will score at least one goal at Friuli, but it remains to be seen whether that will prove enough for a positive result.

Marco Rossi and Juan Vargas remain long-term casualties, while Bosko Jankovic and Juraj Kucka are injury doubts.

Verdict

Both sides go into the game high on confidence after the good string of results, meaning we can expect a pretty open game at Friuli. Udinese desperately need a win in order to escape the danger zone, whereas Genoa are never afraid to attack their opponents on the travels, which makes over 2.5 goals a good choice here.

Our prediction: Over 2.5 goals

Odds: 2.00 (1/1)

Bookmaker: Ladbrokes