Udinese vs Palermo Prediction: Back a 3/1 thriller in the Coppa

Serie B high-fliers Palermo will put their top-flight credentials to the test in the second round of the Coppa Italia on Tuesday when they face Udinese at Bluenergy Stadium (18:30 local, 17:30 BST).

Filippo Inzaghi has enjoyed a near-perfect start to the season with the Rosanero, who only trail leaders Modena on goal difference after four games. My Udinese vs Palermo predictions, which follow below with full team news and Betfred’s match odds, will reflect this excellent opening to 2025-26.

Team News

Udinese boss Kosta Runjaic will continue with Razvan Sava in goal in the continued absence of knee-injury victim Daniele Padelli.

There could be changes elsewhere, with Saba Goglichidze and Jakub Piotrowski potentially in line for starts in place of Arthur Atta and Oier Zarraga.

Lennon Miller made his Friulani debut as a substitute in the 3-0 defeat to Milan on Saturday, and he may get another look-in for the visit of the Sicilians.

Inzaghi is tipped to make one change to the Palermo side which beat Bari with two late goals on Friday.

Claudio Gomes, whose injury-time strike clinched the 2-0 win, may well come in for former Torino midfielder Jacopo Segre.

Jesse Joronen continues to deputise in goal for Alfred Gomis, who suffered a broken arm against Manchester City in pre-season

Udinese vs Palermo Odds

The Serie A club naturally have the favour of the oddsmakers for this match, particularly with the game taking place in Udine.

The Zebrette are 7/10 for the victory in normal time, implying a 58.8% probability of the home side getting the job done.

Palermo are a 4/1 shot, with the draw in 90 minutes priced at 12/5.

If you want to back either side to progress from the tie, whether that happens in normal play or on penalties, Udinese are 4/11 with Palermo 2/1.

Today's Football Fixtures

Udinese & Both Teams To Score @ 3/1

Palermo haven’t exactly been prolific so far, especially for a team sitting on 10 points from four games. But Udinese’s games have largely been full of ebb and flow.

First up they looked second best in patches in a 1-1 draw with Verona, then they went to San Siro and beat Inter 2-1 in a game which could easily have ended 3-3.

Their 1-0 win in Pisa featured notable blown opportunities for both sides, and then at the weekend they were dominated by Milan and were probably counting themselves lucky to have only conceded three before making a couple of decent chances themselves late on.

I have Udinese down to make most of the running here, but I expect them to leave the gate open from time to time. And in Joel Pohjanpalo the Rosanero have a striker who can be extremely dangerous against Serie A defences when he’s in hot form.

While class should tell in the end, I don’t think it will all be one-way traffic. So the Udinese win, coupled with at least one goal for Palermo, seems like the play here.

At 3/1, it’s an implied 25% chance, which looks on the low side to me.

Football Odds

Highest-Scoring Half: Second Half @ 23/20

This one might take a bit of time to get going, so the second half looks ripe for most of the action.

Both teams have seen two of their four league games come in on this bet so far, and with around 60% of goals statistically coming in the second half the implied 46.5% of the 23/20 odds is generous.

There’s always the bench factor to consider, with coaches far more likely to throw on forwards to mix things up than they are to bolster their back lines, especially in cup matches when they are chasing a result.

So my mind is made up on this one, with a bit of a contemplative opening making way for a crescendo in the second period with Udinese coming out on top.

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