Crunch time for Ranieri and Co.
Roma chase a Champions league spot while Udinese bask in mediocrity, avoiding relegation but only just. The desired Ranieri effect has not transpired yet, but there is still hope. Will Romes finest take a much needed leap towards a top 4 finish or will Udinese further their chances of participating in next years Serie A?
Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma come into this clash with 2 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw in their last 7 games, not exactly inspiring stuff to be totally honest. Among those losses is their horrific CL exit at the hands of Porto after having won the first leg with 2-1 at home so things are not exactly rosy in the red and yellow parts of Rome. The Giallorossi did however pull a rabbit out of a hat this past weekend managing to beat Sampdoria away from home which is definitely one of the leagues most difficult away games, whats more is that Roma showed that they weren't going down without a fight and that they are still very capable of actually winning games. Despite giving them grief (which they very well deserve) Roma are very capable at home where they've won 8, drawn 5 and lost 2, and should be making it a 9th win here.
Notable absentees
Kolarov, Florenzi, Perotti, Pastore(?), Karsdorp and Santon.
Udinese
Despite their poor standing in the table Udinese have been somewhat reinvigorated by stand-in manager Igor Tudor and have managed to scrape together 2 wins and a draw since since his appointment. A fun fact is that former Juventus man Igor was the man responsible for keeping Udinese up last season and looks very much like the one to do that very same thing this time around. Despite their turnaround in form Udinese is the leagues 3rd worst away team with 1 win, 5 draws and 8 losses which as you may have gathered is horrendous. All in all not really expecting much from the black and whites in what on paper is one of the hardest away games the Serie A has to offer.
Notable absentees
Zeegelaar, Barak, Nuytinck, Behrami and Hallfredsson.
Betting tip
Roma are strong at home and have a lot to play for, they should have too much quality for a Udinese side that can't get it to work away from home which is why i will be backing a Roma win at 23/50 with Bethard.
If looking for better value i can recommend over 2.5 goals at 16/25.
