In the current season, Udinese and Torino quickly lost their status as the main surprises of Italian football—both started the campaign among the league leaders. While both teams still cling to the top half of the table, we shouldn’t expect an abundance of chances in their head-to-head encounter.
An unexpected victory over Fiorentina (2:1) on Monday was just the second win for Udinese in their last eight Serie A rounds. In Florence, they were fortunate with their finishing (0.78 vs 1.93 in xG), and in the next game, the opposition will closely mark the duo of Florian Thauvin and Lorenzo Lucca. Since the beginning of November, Udinese have suffered three consecutive home defeats, scoring only once—they rank among the bottom three for xG in home matches (8.19).
The decline of Torino, like their upcoming opponents, is directly related to a series of injuries that have sidelined key players across the lines. The match against Bologna (0:2) marked their ninth consecutive game with a total under 2.5—during this stretch, Torino failed to score in five matches. In terms of expected goals, only Genoa (16.14), Empoli (14.60), and Monza (14.46) rank lower than the Turin club (17.47) in Serie A.
In the past two years, Udinese and Torino have hit the total under in their head-to-head matches three times (0:1, 1:1, and 0:2)—these two mid-table sides are likely to remain cautious again on Sunday.
