Sampdoria vs Udinese Predictions
- Under 2.5 goals have been scored in six of Sampdoria’s last seven games.
- Udinese, meanwhile, have seen under 2.5 goals scored in five of their last seven matches.
- With Sampdoria losing seven of their last eight games and Udinese winless in 11, punters may wish to avoid backing either team for victory.
Now or never for Zebrette?
Udinese looked like surprise contenders for a European spot earlier this season, only for a run of 10 Serie A games without victory to leave them well adrift of a well-established top seven. Andrea Sottil’s men have only claimed one point from three games since the World Cup, but Sunday’s trip to a Sampdoria team in deep trouble following a run of seven defeats in eight matches surely represents an opportunity for them to break their duck.Udinese’s dire run of form has not been helped by their inability to create clear-cut chances; the Zebrette have created less than one expected goal (xG) in three of their last five games, while they have only hit multiple goals once in their last eight, going down 3-2 to leaders Napoli when they did so. Five of Udinese’s last seven games have contained under 2.5 goals, as have four of their last five on the road – a run in which they have not won, drawing three times.
With a paltry nine points, Sampdoria are one of three teams close to being cut adrift at the bottom of the Italian top flight. Dejan Stankovic has only led Samp to two victories in 12 games at the helm, with only fellow strugglers Sassuolo failing to beat them in their last eight games. While under 2.5 goals have been scored in six of their last seven contests, Samp have failed to net in seven of their last eight, and they do not appear to have the necessary firepower to stave off relegation.
Lack of confidence breeds lack of goals
With both Sampdoria and Udinese failing to hit the net on a regular basis in recent weeks – a shortcoming which looks likely to send the hosts down, backing under 2.5 goals to be scored appears a prudent play for Sunday’s meeting.Meanwhile, Udinese certainly have the quality to shake off their poor run of form, and this represents their best chance yet to do so – a 1-0 victory for the Zebrette could represent correct score value.