Hellas Verona vs Udinese Prediction: 3/1 and 5/2 picks for a nailed-on goalfest

Hellas Verona need points to pull themselves away from a chaotic lower half of the Serie A table, and on Saturday they host Udinese at the Stadio Bentegodi with a chance to do exactly that (20:45 local, 19:45 GMT).

The Scaligeri were late winners at Bologna last time out but are still one of a pack of 10 clubs separated by just seven points in the relegation battle. Here are my Hellas Verona vs Udinese predictions, along with full preview and odds.

Team News

The good news for Verona is that captain Darko Lazovic should be fit to play after being substituted in the dramatic 3-2 success over Bologna last week.

Boss Paolo Zanetti will not have Juan Cruz or Abdou Harroui though, with the Moroccan having torn a cruciate ligament and Cruz missing due to tendon surgery.

There’s also no Martin Frese thanks to long-standing ACL trouble.

Udinese are still without goalkeeper Maduka Okoye due to a wrist complaint, with Keinan Davis, Oier Zarraga and Lautaro Giannetti missing with various muscular problems.

Alexis Sanchez is back in the first-team picture for the Friulani having missed most of the opening half of the season.

Hellas Verona vs Udinese Odds

Udinese’s loftier league position sees them take the mantle of favourites heading into Saturday’s clash.

The visitors go into the weekend in ninth place in Serie A, and they are a 6/4 bet to win at the Bentegodi at an implied probability of 40%.

You can get 2/1 (33.3%) for Verona to come out on top for a seventh time this season. In fact, the Gialloblu haven’t drawn a single match, with six wins and 12 defeats on their ledger.

A first draw of the campaign is a 21/10 chance with Betfred.

Over 3.5 goals @ 5/2

There ought to be goals in this one. After all, four of Verona’s last six games have featured five goals, with a pair of 3-2 wins against Parma and Bologna helping to offset the damage caused by a 5-0 home defeat to Inter a 4-1 reverse on Empoli’s visit.

It is a series of results which have helped to land Hellas with easily the worst defence of any side in the league this term; they have shipped eight more goals than the next-poorest tally (Parma with 34).

While Udinese’s results haven’t been quite so packed with strikes, there have still been six of 18 games that have finished with three or more, including in their 2-2 draw with Torino last week.

I definitely see the net bulging with a degree of regularity on Saturday night, so the Over 3.5 market looks a fair bet at a generous 5/2 with its implied probability of 28.6%.

Football Odds

Udinese/Udinese HT/FT @ 3/1

It’s hard to back Verona when you consider just how many goals they concede. Their last three wins have all finished 3-2, each one proving that they need a fair amount of joy in front of the target to have any hope of picking up points.

They are conceding 2.33 goals per game in the league, and that goes up to 2.7 over their last 10 matches. So Udinese have to be a fair bet to crack the code early and build on that base.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Zebrette making the most of a porous Verona defence, and the offer of 3/1 for them to get ahead in the opening half and see it home looks good to me.

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