Udinese and Empoli Embroiled in Relegation Fight
Udinese vs Empoli Odds For Sunday’s Crucial Serie A Match
Empoli Would Escape Relegation Zone With Win
For a third straight season Serie A’s relegation battle will come down to the final day of the campaign.
Two teams desperately attempting to avoid relegation, Udinese and Empoli, will face off on Sunday in a crucial match.
Entering the weekend, Empoli are in 18th place and in the relegation zone with two games to play. Meanwhile, 15th-placed Udinese are just one point ahead of Empoli.
As an Empoli win would mean they escape the relegation zone for the time being, we’ll take a look at the Udinese vs Empoli odds.
Udinese vs Empoli
Day/Time:
Location: Bluenergy Stadium, Udine, Italy
Udinese vs Empoli Head-to-Head
Udinese have gone unbeaten in their last four Serie A fixtures vs Empoli. Earlier this season, these teams contested a scoreless draw in Empoli.
The Udinese vs Empoli odds listed a draw at a +230 price prior to the match. Last season, Udinese drew 1-1 vs Empoli at the Bluenergy Stadium and the Friulani have lost only one of their last seven Serie A home games vs Empoli.
Udinese’s Form Picking up Under Cannavaro
Heading into Matchday 36, Udinese were in the position Empoli find themselves in right now. Getting three points when they needed it most, Udinese managed to exit the relegation zone with a 2-0 win over Lecce.
The win was Udinese’s first for two months and Lazar Samardzic and Lorenzo Lucca were on the scoresheet.
Samardzic and Lucca are two stars on a team filled with young talent. Of the 16 players to log 1000 Serie A minutes for Udinese this season, ten are 25 or younger.
Lucca, a towering 6’7” striker is the first Italian forward to reach the eight goal mark in his first Serie A season since 2016. Yet, even with this group of young talents, Udinese are in a relegation fight.
Their Serie A scores have been quite bizarre this season, as they’ve drawn half of their 36 matches. Their 18 draws are by far the most in the league and while they’re 4-8-6 on the road, Udinese are just 1-10-7 at home.
Since former Ballon d’Or winner Fabio Cannavaro took over from Gabriele Cioffi, Udinese have avoided defeat in three of their last four games, though.
Florian Thauvin and Sandi Lovric are currently listed as doubtful for Sunday’s match.
Empoli on 350 Minute Goal Drought
Empoli have stayed up in each of the last two Serie A seasons with relative ease. It is quite remarkable that a Serie A team from a town of just 46,000 people has managed to establish itself in Serie A.
This time around, Empoli have struggled to string together results and are in 18th place in the Serie A standings. They have been Serie A’s lowest scoring team this season, with just 26 goals in 36 matches.
The only goal Empoli have scored in their last five games was enough to secure all three points vs Napoli on April 20th. Since then, Empoli are 0-1-2 and fell 2-0 to Lazio last Sunday.
Even though they didn’t manage to get on the scoresheet, it is somewhat encouraging that Empoli outshot Lazio.
Still, no Empoli player has managed to score five Serie A goals this season and they’re certainly not a possession-based team.
They may get few opportunities on Sunday and their forwards will need to be clinical or risk going a fourth straight game without a goal.
Currently, Tyronne Ebuehi is the only Serie A player out injured for Davide Nicola’s side. Nicola managed Udinese from 2018 to 2019 and he’ll want to get one over on his former employers.
Udinese vs Empoli Match Analysis & Odds
While Udinese will undoubtedly want to grab all three points here, a draw (+240) would be enough to keep them out of the relegation zone heading into the final day.
If Udinese are able to secure all three points it would be the first time they get back-to-back victories all season. The Friulani are currently +105 favorites according to the latest Udinese vs Empoli odds.
Meanwhile, a draw could also take Empoli out of the relegation zone but that’s far from certain. Empoli will focus on not conceding here and they have kept two clean sheets in their last four Serie A games.
The Tuscan side are +270 underdogs and haven’t won on the road at Udinese since 2015.
Bettors can also back Udinese pk, -0.5 at -130 or Empoli pk, +0.5 at +110. Neither team has been lighting up the scoreboard this season and they’ve both averaged under a goal per game.
Under 2, 2.5 goals display -115 odds as this could be the type of match where one goal wins it.
For Serie A betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
