A late equaliser conceded against Roma (1-1 draw) last Sunday ended Napoli’s impressive run of seven consecutive victories, as Antonio Conte’s team missed the opportunity to widen their lead at the top of Serie A. Despite this setback, having secured 16 more points than they had at this point last season, the Partenopei continue on a promising trajectory, boasting the league’s strongest defence with just 16 goals conceded and an impressive tally of 12 clean sheets.
Napoli have kept three clean sheets in their last five home games (winning four and losing one), and historical head-to-head records suggest they are well-positioned to maintain their winning form. The last time they failed to defeat Udinese in a league match at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona dates back to 2013, having won the previous ten encounters there. However, this match might prove more challenging, as nine other teams have scored more home goals than Napoli’s 17 leading into this round.
The visitors are heading south after breaking their five-game winless streak (D3, L2) with a 3-2 triumph over Venezia last weekend. However, their prospects for consistent victories seem slim since the last time Kosta Runjaić’s team secured consecutive wins was in early September, and Udinese have yet to defeat a side managed by Antonio Conte (D2, L10).
Following a sequence of four consecutive away losses, Udinese have suffered only one defeat in their last five Serie A road games (W2, D2), with three out of the last four matches seeing an early goal within the first ten minutes. Improving their starts could be advantageous as only two teams had conceded more than their four away goals in the first 15 minutes before this round.
Key players to keep an eye on: Leonardo Spinazzola, who found the net against his previous club last weekend, has now scored the first goal for his team in each of his most recent eight competitive goals, starting the scoring on five occasions. Lorenzo Lucca also kicked off the scoring last weekend, marking his 11th competitive goal this season, with five of the last six goals occurring between the 35th and 50th minutes.
Impressive statistic: Napoli have netted at least three goals in five of their last seven home games against Udinese, winning all seven encounters.
