Spezia – Udinese

Udinese will be close to a long-awaited win

Udinese's winless streak extends to six games. Since their last success (against Verona in early October), they have drawn four times and lost twice (to Monza in the Italian Cup and Torino in the league). Last weekend, the Friulians drew 1-1 against Lecce. Obviously, the Bianconeri deserved to win. The team created more chances, but, as it happens in recent matches, they had problems with realization. The xG result proves it. Udinese managed 1.65 goals and Lecce 0.84. A similar thing can be said about the meeting against Cremonese. And although the same Gerard Deulofeu is the leader of the championship in terms of created chances (they have as many as 44, 6 more than Kvaratskhelia), the player marked only one goal in the last three rounds. A string of defeats has dropped Sottil's side to eighth in the league table, and the coach himself has his sights set on playing well in the games remaining before the World Cup break. Spezia have lost for the third successive match in a row. Each of the defeats was by one goal margin. Luca Gotti's side narrowly missed out on the points against AC Milan last time out, but the controversy surrounding the encounter came down to a Daniel Maldini goal for the Eagles. Although La Spezia lost by a goal in the 89th minute, we cannot say it was undeserved. "The Rossoneri should have scored a lot more as their opponents beat them defensively very badly. "The Eagles concede quite a lot overall: 24 goals in 13 rounds with 11 goals scored proves the fairness of the team's place in the standings. And at the moment it is right above the relegation zone. According to the latest information, Lovrić, who picked up a minor injury in the match against Cremonese, could recover for this meeting. There is no hope for Bekao's return yet, but in the same game against Lecce the team worked well in developing their attacks without him. The Friuli's initial surge was not accidental and their unbeaten streak has been rather long. The team must turn themselves around and finally get the three points.