Napoli v Udinese Betting Tips [27 September 2023]

Matchday six in the Italian Serie A sees a midweek fixture when seventh-place Napoli host 18th-place Udinese on Wednesday. The defending champions are off to a mixed start in the 2023/24 campaign with two wins, two draws and a loss from the first five fixtures. This has them in a seven point hole behind leaders Inter in the early days of the season. Following a winning start in the Champions League, Napoli were unable to carry over the positive momentum to the weekend. Gli Azzurri drew 0-0 with Bologna on Sunday for the club’s second consecutive league draw and third match without a victory in the Serie A. It’s been a bumpy start for manager Rudi Garcia who has the unenviable task of filling the gigantic shoes left by Luciano Spalletti. Napoli were already beaten 2-1 by Lazio in the team’s last home performance despite losing only twice at this ground last season.

Udinese have stumbled out of the gates and are now one of four teams in the Italian top-flight still seeking their first win. Their only success so far was a 4-1 home win over Serie B side Catanzaro in the Coppa Italia back in August. Udinese finished 12th in the previous campaign but find themselves in the relegation zone after the first five games. They managed to draw their two away fixtures so far against Salernitana and Cagliari but will face a much tougher task here. The Bianconeri somehow conspired to lose 2-0 to Fiorentina on the weekend despite controlling much of the play and creating far more dangerous chances. The visitors have now gone three consecutive matches without registering a goal. Additionally, Udinese have been held scoreless in four of their five league outings while only scoring once.

Napoli aren’t the same team this time around that they were last season under Spalletti’s leadership. However, there is still plenty of quality in the side and they shouldn’t have trouble against an Udinese side that look incapable of scoring at the moment. The visitors created a number of clear cut scoring chances in their last match but were let down by poor finishing. Things won’t get any easier here as they face last season’s best defensive side. A 1-0 or 2-0 win for the home side looks to be on the cards. Our Napoli vs Udinese prediction is for Napoli to win and under 3.5 goals.