Fiorentina, who is in sixth place at the league table, will welcome Udinese to the Stadio Artemio Franchi for their Serie A clash on Wednesday evening with a kickoff at 7 pm.
Fiorentina’s hopes of securing Champions League football next season were dealt a major blow when they suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat away against a resurgent Salernitana side last weekend.
They were behind for only nine minutes when Milan Duric missed in front of the goal after Riccardo Saponara equalised for the home side in the 64th minute. Still, a Federico Bonazzoli strike in the 79th minute after a defensive mishap from Fiorentina’s Igor inside the six-yard box helped Salernitana claim all three points.
Vincenzo Italiano saw his side’s six-game unbeaten league run end. Still, with Juventus, Roma and Lazio also failing to win – the latter two losing to Inter Milan and AC Milan, respectively – Fiorentina remains sixth in the Serie A standings, seven points behind Juve in fourth with five games remaining.
Like Fiorentina, Udinese were also victims of Salernitana’s revitalised form when they suffered a 1-0 home defeat last Wednesday.
However, they bounced back on Sunday when strikes from Destiny Udogie and Isaac Success turned the game on its head. Hickey scored for Bologna in the sixth minute, but Nicola Sansone equalised late to ensure both sides shared the spoils in Northern Italy.
Fiorentina vs Udinese Head to Head
Both sides have 32 games against each other with hosts taking 19 wins while visitors with nine wins. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Salernitana 2-1 Fiorentina
- Juventus 2-0 Fiorentina
- Fiorentina 1-0 Venezia
- Napoli 2-3 Fiorentina
- Fiorentina 1-0 Empoli
Away
- Bologna 2-2 Udinese
- Udinese 0-1 Salernitana
- Udinese 4-1 Empoli
- Venezia 1-2 Udinese
- Udinese 5-1 Cagliari
Fiorentina Team News
Fiorentina will be without midfield duo Lucas Torreira and Gaetano Castrovilli as they recover from respective hip and knee injuries. However, Alfred Duncan, Sofyan Amrabat and Youssef Maleh started in centre-midfield last time out.
Udinese Team News
After scoring his first goal for the Black and Whites on Sunday, Roberto Pereyra (muscle), Beto (hamstring) and Antonio Santurro (knee) are all sidelined with injuries. Success will likely retain his place up front alongside Gerard Deulofeu, with Ignacio Pussetto expected to begin again as a substitute.
Prediction and Odds
The hosts have been brilliant on home soil throughout this campaign and should be able to claim all three points in midweek.
- Fiorentina Win
- Goals Under 3.5
- No Score: Away
