Udinese – Salernitana

Salernitana will try to pick up points for the second match in a row

Not the most logical wins Udinese have had in recent times. While there is no question about the result against Cagliari, the games against Venezia and Empoli hardly deserved to end this way. The Friulians scored the winning goal in the 90th and fourth minute of game time against the Arancioneverdi, and the 4-1 draw against the Azzurri hardly depicts what was happening on the pitch. Both games were more like draws for Gabriele Cioffi's side. More surprisingly, the Bianconeri scored four goals against Empoli without the help of their top scorer Beto. The Portuguese is out indefinitely due to injury. In any case, a succession of positive outcomes allowed Udinese to secure their place in top division. Cioffi's side are unlikely to move up significantly from 12th place at the end of the league season. Salernitan picked up a vital win. "The Seahorses hadn't produced three points since their 1-2 win against Verona in January and they have not won again until last week's fixture. Davide Nicola's side made it 1-2 away against Sampdoria thanks to two quick goals. This result was extremely important for a team that is fighting for survival. With two matches in hand, Salernitana were able to cut the gap from the saving 17th place and get the necessary morale boost. In theory, with a calendar like this, the Seahorses could fight for survival. Nicola's men will face Venezia, Cagliari, Empoli and the same Udinese in the last round. But obviously, without a point in this match, their chances of survival will melt away. The success in the game against the Genoese was no fluke. The team managed to improve significantly in many aspects of the game, most notably in defensive play. Thus, before that, Salernitana lost to Torino and Roma by one goal difference. In the last ten rounds, the only major defeats were to rivals from top six. Udinese's defeat to Empoli was only possible thanks to the misguided persistence of the Azzurri. Salernitana clearly value any scoring point and are more likely to play from deep defence, as they have done in the past. Without the Portuguese striker, Udinese are unlikely to defeat the last team in the league. And there's little point in doing so.