Sunday April 3rd 2011, 2pm GMT
Depending on the results of both the Milan derby and the meeting of Napoli and Lazio, Udinese could begin this game at Lecce with a huge opportunity to make further progress in Serie A. Wins for both Lazio and Udinese on Sunday would lift the Bianconeri up one place into third, which would surely be a worry for the other title contenders with only seven games remaining after this weekend.
Udinese have made superb progress in the second half of this season, and have yet to be beaten in 2011. Front two Antonio Di Natale and Alexis Sánchez have deservedly been earning a lot of praise, but Coach Francesco Guidolin also deserves credit for strengthening Udinese’s defence. They have now gone seven games without conceding a goal, and their final fixture of the season against Milan suddenly looks like it could be a very significant one.
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| Samir Handanovic: going for his eighth clean sheet in a row |
Lecce’s record doesn’t suggest that they will be able to offer much resistance to the Friuli side. Their home record is one of the worst in Serie A, and they have won only one of their seven home games in 2011 (four of which have ended in defeat). This record places Lecce third from bottom in Serie A as things stand, and form suggests that they will have to look past this fixture in their search for points. Both sides will be missing midfielders due to suspension: Giampiero Pinzi is the banned Udinese player, while Lecce's Guillermo Giacomazzi is also suspended.
Udinese beat Lecce 4-0 the last time these two met, and they should record a comfortable win again on Sunday afternoon while maintaining another clean sheet.
Prediction – Udinese to win to nil – 3pts
Match odds: Lecce 16/5
Draw 5/2
Udinese 4/5
Udinese to win to nil 23/10
Lecce: Last 5 Serie A Results
20.03.2011 – Inter 1-0 Lecce
13.03.2011 – Lecce 0-1 Bologna
04.03.2011 – Lecce 1-2 Roma
27.02.2011 – Brescia 2-2 Lecce
20.02.2011 – Lecce 2-0 Juventus
Udinese: Last 5 Serie A Results
20.03.2011 – Udinese 2-0 Catania
13.03.2011 – Cagliari 0-4 Udinese
06.03.2011 – Udinese 1-0 Bari
27.02.2011 – Palermo 0-7 Udinese
20.02.2011 – Udinese 0-0 Brescia
