Fiorentina vs Udinese

Stadio Artemio Franchi is the venue as European qualification hopefuls Fiorentina take on an unpredictable Udinese side in an exciting Serie A encounter.

Dreams of landing the European qualification spot for the first time since 2015/16 are still alive for Fiorentina, who head into proceedings trailing sixth-placed Lazio by two points. However, their bid to leapfrog ‘I Biancocelesti’ to the Europa Conference League qualification place took a hit at the weekend as they fell to an underwhelming 2-1 defeat away to relegation-battling Salernitana, ending a run of three consecutive league victories. Now back at Artemio Franchi, where they are unbeaten in their last five Serie A outings (W4, D1), ‘La Viola’ will be keen to record a fourth successive top-flight home clean sheet for the first time since April 2018, haivng won their last three such fixtures by an identical 1-0 scoreline. There are plenty of reasons for optimism in Vincenzo Italiano’s camp, as his men haven’t lost any of their last ten Serie A meetings with Udinese (W7, D3).

As for Udinese, an inspiring run of three successive Serie A victories has been overshadowed by back-to-back league games without winning (D1, L1). However, ‘I Friulani’ have already tucked themselves in mid-table comforts, 15 points clear of the drop zone, meaning they will have nothing to lose at Artemio Franchi. That should ease the pressure on Udinese, who have lost their last 13 Serie A matches in Florence, conceding 2+ goals in 11 of those defeats. Worryingly, though, they haven’t won any of their 16 previous Serie A fixtures held on Wednesdays (European time), drawing six and losing ten in that sequence. Since the calendar flipped to 2022, Gabriele Cioffi’s men have gone winless in six of their seven Serie A away games (D3, L3), shipping over 1.5 goals in four of them.