ITALIAN SERIE A BETTING PICK - JUVENTUS V UDINESE

Italian Serie A

2012-01-28 - Juventus vs Udinese

A Sports Betting Pick by Cruiser

Match Preview :

In recent seasons, Juventus tend to struggle against Udinese and despite Juventus are sitting at the top of Serie A, expect a fiery envcounter in this clash on Saturday night. Juventus may be still unbeaten since the start of the season, but make no mistake Udinese will not come here and simply roll down and get beaten.

For the record, udinese have managed to win just six times at Juventus in Serie A, but three of those have come in the last 10 meetings and two in the last four, that is what makes it so special. Goals from Cristian Zapata and Alexis Sanchez cancelled out a Claudio Marchisio effort last January.

Juventus's last match saw them beat Atalanta 2-0 away from home but they wasted many opportunities to kill off the game early which will alarm boss Antonio Conte. Nevertheless goals in the second half from Stephan Lichtsteiner and Emanuele Giaccherini sealed the 2-0 win for them.

Alessandro Matri wasted numerous chances and he could be replaced by Marco Borriello, the January loan arrival who started his first game for Juve against Roma in the Coppa on Tuesday. It should be noted that Juventus run of four consecutive home wins was ended by Cagliari on January 15 as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Juventus will hope that Udinese's unimpressive away form continues here. While they have collected 28 points from a possible 30 at the Stadio Friuli, they have won just twice on their travels.

Meanwhile, Udinese recovered from a 3-2 loss at Genoa to register a 2-1 against Catania last week.That win saw them set a new club record of 38 points at the half-way stage of the season and see them situated third in the standings. That speak pretty good for a side who after selling off the likes of Sanchez, Gokhan Inler and Zapata last summer.

No doubt that Juventus starts as the favourites as in 37 league games in Turin, Juventus have 27 wins, with just four draws and six Udinese victories.

Do watch out for Antonio Di Natale in the Udinese side. He may only have three goals in 12 League games for Udinese against Juventus, but every time he has scored against the Juve his side have won. He is in superb form as his goal against Catania last week proved. . He has scored 14 goals in 18 League games this term.

For the record, Juventus have only scored four goals in their last five home games against Udinese. The last time they scored more than once in a game against Udinese was way back in February 2005 when they won 2-1 thanks to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mauro Camoranesi who was on the scoresheets.

Team News :

Juventus Team News :
Marchisio is rated doubtful for this one after picking up a knee injury in the 2-0 win at Atalanta. Simone Pepe is also struggling with an ankle problem that saw him being substituted in that match. Leonardo Bonucci has a knee problem which the club hopes will recover in time. Mirko Vucinic is also a doubt for this match.

UdineseTeam News :
Boss Francesco Guidolin has no suspensions to worry about. However, the likes of Barreto, Coda, Fabbrini and Pinzi are nursing injuries and are out of this clash. Meanwhile, Benatia, Asamoah and Badu are away on African Cup of nations duty so they misses out as well.

Possible lineups

Juventus : Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Vidal, Pirlo, Marrone; Giaccherini, Matri, Estigarribia


Atalanta : Handanovic; Ferronetti, Danilo, Domizzi, Pasquale; Basta, Isla, Fernandes, Armero; Floro Flores, Di Natale

Predictions :

Take Udinese and accept the 3/4 ball here as a draw is likely on the cards.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

BEST BETTING TIP :

Go for this match to end all square - A DRAW.