Click here for today’s sports betting tips from our expert analysts!
It has been a brilliant start to the season for Udinese but the Friulians come into this one on the back of a gutting defeat in midweek against struggling Venezia as they now face a Juventus side held to yet another draw the other day.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Saturday 2nd November, 2024 - UK – 5:00pm / US ET – 1:00pm / US PT – 10:00am
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – Not televised / US – Select matches will be televised on CBS Sports so it is worth checking their schedule
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – OneFootball / US – Paramount+
UDINESE PREVIEW: TOPSY TURVY GAMES
In the summer, Udinese were the subject of the Pozzo family providing more significance and importance to the Friulians and prioritising them over Watford following Udinese narrowly escaping relegation on the final day of last season and the Hornets’ stagnation in the Championship.
Now coached by former Legia Warsaw boss Kosta Runjaic, Udinese begin this weekend’s round of fixtures sitting in the top-half of the table but they have up a two-goal lead in Venice on Wednesday and eventually suffered a 3-2 defeat to the strugglers as they failed to back up a comfortable 2-0 defeat of Cagliari last weekend.
JUVENTUS PREVIEW: LIMITED OLD LADY
Massimiliano Allegri departed Juventus over the summer as the Old Lady opted to create a more dynamic and progressive style and squad with the appointment of former Bologna boss Thiago Motta, who had led Bologna to a fifth place finish and UEFA Champions League qualification last season.
The Bianconeri have been frustrating in their opening ten matches of the 2024/25 Serie A campaign with four victories and six draws in their opening couple of months. They were held to another draw in midweek in Turin against Parma in a game in which Parma had taken the lead twice before Juve pegged them back.
UDINESE TEAM NEWS: TOURE SUSPENSION
The catalyst for Udinese’s turnaround defeat to Venezia the other day was the red card given to defender Isaak Toure early on in the second-half of that campaign.
One of the standout signs that the Pozzo family were turning their attention back to Udinese was the arrival of Alexis Sanchez but he is still out injured without making his second debut.
PREDICTED XI (3-5-1-1): Okoye; Giannetti, Bijol, Abankwah; Ehizibue, Lovric, Karlstrom, Payero, Kamara; Iker Bravo; Lucca
UNAVAILABLE: Toure (Suspended), Atta (Injured), Sanchez (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
JUVENTUS TEAM NEWS: JUVE’S INJURIES
Brazilian defender Bremer is missing for Juventus this weekend due to an ACL injury and they are also missing the likes of Douglas Luiz and Arkadiusz Milik.
The biggest issue has been Argentina international Nicolas Gonzalez with Paul Pogba negotiating the mutual termination of his contract due to doping.
PREDICTED XI (4-3-3): Di Gregorio; Cambiaso, Gatti, Danilo, Juan Cabal; McKennie, Thuram, Locatelli; Conceicao, Vlahovic, Weah
UNAVAILABLE: Bremer (Injured), Douglas Luiz (Injured), Pogba (Disciplinary), Gonzalez (Injured), Milik (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
UDINESE VS JUVENTUS PREDICTION
Udinese are a haphazard but entertaining team to watch this season following the appointment of Kosta Runjaic and do embody the style of football that Runjaic implemented whilst in charge of Legia Warsaw. Juventus will try and play their way through the Friulians with their own style but it can often be overly complex in the final third, albeit they do create openings and have scored six goals in their last two matches. Both teams scoring would appear a good bet for this one.
UDINESE VS JUVENTUS TIP: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE