Udinese welcome Benevento to Stadio Friuli on Wednesday night as two sides who occupy mid-table status collide in the hope of breaking into the top half.

Udinese are unbeaten in their last four, but could not get past Cagliari last time out after being held to a draw away from home.

Benevento came through against a struggling Genoa to win 2-0 and continue what has been a promising season for the Serie A newcomers so far.

Match preview

Udinese manager Luca Gotti pictured in July 2020 © Reuters

Luca Gotti's side are unbeaten in six Serie A games, an achievement that the Bianconeri have not matched in the league since January 2018.

Udinese are also unbeaten against Benevento in the top flight, having only met in 2017 and 2018, which ended in a 2-0 win and a 3-3 draw respectively.

Such a goal-fest is unlikely to happen this time around, with Gotti's men being the fifth-lowest scorers in the division and their top goalscorer, Rodrigo de Paul, having only scored three goals so far this term.

If Udinese can make it seven games without a loss on Wednesday night, it will be the first time since January 2018 that the Bianconeri have gone seven games unbeaten.

Benevento manager Filippo Inzaghi pictured in September 2020 © Reuters

Filippo Inzaghi's spirited Benevento side did well to beat Genoa 2-0 at home at the weekend.

Still, seeing as they failed to find the net in the previous two away games in Serie A, they could have their work cut out if they are to secure back-to-back wins in the top flight for the first time in their history.

That feat will be made easier if Marco Sau can make it two goals in two games, having not scored in Serie A for over two years before netting against Genoa.

Benevento will need to play to their strengths if they are to get a result on Wednesday, and will likely utilise their set-piece threat which has seen them score five goals from corners so far this season.

However, they will have to undo an organised Udinese side who are one of five teams yet to concede from a corner this season.

Udinese Serie A form: DWWWDW
Udinese form (all competitions): WLWWDW

Benevento Serie A form: WDDLDW

Team News

Udinese boss Luca Gotti in November 2019. © Reuters

For Gotti, Mato Jajalo, Stefano Okaka and Bram Nuytinck are all sidelined with injuries, while Fernando Forestieri is rated doubtful for the game.

Rodrigo Becau could be rested as he currently has four yellow cards to his name, and should he earn a fifth on Wednesday, he will go on to miss the trip to Juventus on Sunday.

Thomas Ouwejan and Sebastien De Maio are both long-term absentees and will both be missing once again.

Pasquale Schiattarella will serve the last game of his suspension, with Luca Caldirola, Christian Maggio and Massimo Volta missing the game through injury.

Iago Falque is also set to miss out after suffering a calf injury in training.

Udinese possible starting lineup:
Musso; Bonifazi, Samir, Becao; Larsen, De Paul, Arslan, Pereyra, Zeegelaar; Nestorovski, Pussetto

Benevento possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Letizia, Tuia, Glik, Barba; Hetemaj, Dabo, Ionita; Insigne, Caprari; Lapadula

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We say: Udinese 2-1 Benevento

Benevento have made a bright start to the season, but this will be a tough away outing, and we expect this experienced Udinese side to make the most of their home advantage and come out on top.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Udinese win with a probability of 37.64%. A win for Benevento had a probability of 35.86% and a draw had a probability of 26.5%.

The most likely scoreline for a Udinese win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.9%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.25%) and 2-0 (6.49%). The likeliest Benevento win was 0-1 (9.62%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.59%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 6.1% likelihood.