Serie A: Inter Looking for a Lift in Udine

Udinese vs Inter Milan

Okay, who thought Serie A: Udinese vs Inter Milan would be a third versus sixth game? Not this SBOTOP writer but, after an electric start to the 2024/25 campaign Le Zebrette find themselves third in the league table, three places and two points ahead of the reigning champions.

After finishing 15^th last term Udinese parted company with Fabio Cannavaro, who took charge for the end of the 2023/24 campaign, and appointed Kosta Runjaic; and he has overseen a run of three wins and a draw before losing their fifth game of the campaign, away to Roma. And now they face their biggest test yet when I Nerazzurri come to town on Saturday. Simone Inzaghi’s Inter have started pretty well, but suffered a painful defeat in the Derbi Di Milano last weekend.

The Udinese vs Inter Milan betting odds say the champions will inflict a second defeat on Le Zebretta and I Nerazzurri really need a win. They have made a decent start but their fans deserve a performance after they lost to their biggest rivals.

 

Talking Points

Thauvin is on France’s radar

Udinese went to Rome unbeaten but they took a bit of a hiding as I Giallorossi turned in a strong performance, with 62 per cent possession and eight shots to two on target. It was something of a comedown for the Udinese fans who travelled; they have come to expect more, having watched their team draw in Bologna and, last week they launched a superb comeback to win a five goal thriller away to Parma. Runjaic’s men were 2-0 down at the break but fought back to take top spot in the league. French striker Florian Thauvin scored twice and, after Parma had a player sent off, Lorenzo Lucca headed home the winner to move Udinese a point above Napoli at the summit.       

31 year old Thauvin has three goals and an assist in his second season with Udinese and he has been given the captain’s armband. He previously scored 46 goals in 106 games for Olympique Marseilles and has made ten appearances for France, his last international cap coming in 2019. But news from French sports paper L’Equipe suggests Didier Deschamps is seriously giving thought to a potential return for Thauvin for Les Bleus’ upcoming games against Israel and Belgium.     

 

Barella out for Inter

After winning three games on the bounce, all in the league, I Nerazzurri have gone three without a win, drawing away to Monza and Manchester City and then losing the big one in Milan. And there is more bad news for Inter fans as it has just been reported that key man Nicolo Barella is out for the match against Udinese. The Azzurri star will be a big miss in midfield and, after limping off during the Derbi Di Milano, he is now set to miss the next three games, including a Champions League clash with Red Star Belgrade followed by a meeting with current league leaders Torino. The 27 year old has a thigh strain and he is likely to be replaced by summer recruit Piotr Zielinski, who came on for Barella at the San Siro. To lose such an important player is a serious blow after Inter’s mixed couple of weeks. Some of their key players had long runs at Euro 2024 or at the Copa America and captain Lautaro Martinez has been quiet so far. The Argentine only had a week to train before the season began and is yet to score a goal, though he did provide an assist in the Milan Derby.         

 

History

With 37 victories to 15, I Nerazzurri have bossed the head to head Udinese vs Inter Milan results, winning the last three, the most recent meeting a 2-1 victory back in April on their march to the 2024 Scudetto.

Both teams come into the game in good form, but the hosts have the edge with four wins from the last six, including a Coppa Italia victory over Avelino; meanwhile Inter have won two and drawn three, including an impressive shutout against Manchester City, before losing the Milan Derby.  

 

Betting Tip

At a price of 1.48 the champions are very strong favourites to win this clash with the draw at 3.95 and Udinese at 5.60 to continue their great start to the campaign. The hosts have a Coppa Italia clash against Salernitana on Wednesday while Inter have a week off and that could work one of two ways. If Udinese win that match they will be full of confidence, though they have less time to prepare than Inter. 

   

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