Udinese under pressure as Lecce visit with both sides searching for form

Two. That is how many goals Udinese have scored in three home league matches this season, and it sums up the pressure building around the club as Lecce visit Udine for Round 7.

Context & stakes

Udinese sit 15th of 20 with four points from six games. Lecce are 13th with six. Neither side can afford to drift further from the bottom reaches of the table, and for Udinese another defeat would deepen a slide that has already seen them lose four of their last five. Kickoff is at 13:30 Doha time.

Form

Udinese’s problems run through the whole team. They have scored nine goals in six league games and conceded 13, and they have not kept a single clean sheet. Nine of those 13 goals came after half-time, which points to a side that fades when opponents press them. Over their last five matches they have scored eight and conceded 12.

Lecce have struggled just as much. They have scored four times in their last five outings and conceded 12, and their only clean sheet of the season came on the road. Their away goal return of two in three trips is hardly the stuff of a side confident of winning on the road.

Head-to-head

Udinese have the better recent record in this fixture. They have won four of the last five meetings, scoring eight goals in the process. Lecce’s only win in that run came in February, a 2-1 result that ended Udinese’s streak and is the most recent meeting between the two sides.

Team news

Udinese will be without Vakoun Bayo and Iker Gueye through injury, along with Jakub Piotrowski, who is missing for heart-related reasons, and Nicola Zaniolo, who is also out with a thigh problem. Jaka Abankwah is a doubt. Lecce are without Marco Berisha, who lacks match fitness, and Nikola Stulic, who has a muscle injury. Ilic is also a doubt.

Our prediction

We expect a tight contest that Udinese need more than their opponents. The home side have struggled to find the net at their own ground, but Lecce’s away record is just as thin and their defence has been leaking late goals. A cagey first half is likely, with the decisive moment coming if Udinese can strike before the interval.

Udinese 1-0 Lecce