Udinese take on Verona in a bid to achieve dreams

Udinese vs Verona and Monza vs Parma: the Saturday schedule for Serie A Enilive matchday 29 begins with two important battles for survival. The Friulani have gained 14 points in their last seven games and will aim to maintain this great form in order to keep themselves in the fight for Europe.

Verona are 14 points behind them and have lost four of their last five matches. The most recent two games were against Juve and Bologna, however, they did beat Fiorentina. The Veneti are aiming to move away from the drop zone.

HEAD TO HEAD

The record across the last eight encounters in the top-flight between Hellas Verona and Udinese is balanced, with two wins each and four draws, including a 0-0 draw in the reverse fixture: the two teams could draw both seasonal matches in Serie A for the first time since 2019-20, with both meetings ending goalless on that occasion. Udinese are unbeaten in their last seven home games against Hellas Verona in Serie A (W3 D4) and they have never recorded a longer such run against them in the competition – the last away success for the Venetians in the top-flight against the Friulians came back in December 2014, a 2-1 win with goals scored by Luca Toni and Lazaros Christodoulopoulos. Hellas Verona have kept a clean sheet in six of their last 11 league games against Udinese and the Friulian team are in fact the opponent against which the Gialloblù have recorded the most clean sheets in Serie A since the 2019-20 season.

DID YOU KNOW?

Udinese have won 40 points from their first 28 games of the season in Serie A for the first time since 2012-13, when they won 41 points but lost their following match that season. Hellas Verona have lost four of their last five league games (W1); however, considering only matches against opponents outside the top eight positions in the table at the start of the matchday, they have remained unbeaten in each of their last four such games (W2 D2). After a run of six consecutive home games without a win (D2 L4), Udinese have since won their last three Serie A games at the Bluenergy Stadium; the last time they recorded more consecutive home wins under a single manager in the competition was between April and September 2013 (5 under Francesco Guidolin). Hellas Verona have averaged the lowest possession rate in Serie A in 2025 (35%); however, the Gialloblù have attempted a shot on average once every 26 passes in the league over that period, more often than any other team in the competition. This is only the second time in the last 10 seasons that Udinese have two players with at least eight goals scored after their first 28 Serie A games of the season (8 for Florian Thauvin and 10 for Lorenzo Lucca), following 2021/22 when Beto (8) and Gerard Deulofeu (9) did so.

PLAYERS

Florian Thauvin has found the net in his last two Serie A appearances and could score in three games in a row in the big five European Leagues for the first time since September 2018 with Marseille; the Udinese striker has also scored eight goals in Serie A this season, last scoring more in a single league campaign in 2018-19 in Ligue 1 (16). Only Atlético Madrid's Alexander Sørloth (7) has scored more goals as a substitute than Daniel Mosquera (5 - level with Lazio's Pedro and Girona's Cristhian Stuani) in the big five European Leagues 2024-25; furthermore, only Giampaolo Pazzini (6 - 3 in 2017-18 and 3 in 2019-20) has scored more such goals for Hellas Verona in Serie A in the three points for a win era.

DISCIPLINE

Suspended: Kamara (Udinese); Valentini (Hellas Verona). Cautioned: Lovric, Payero, Ehizibue, Giannetti (Udinese); Suslov, Coppola (Hellas Verona)

REFEREE

AYROLDI (LO CICERO – VOTTA) IV: PERRI, VAR: GARIGLIO, AVAR: MAZZOLENI

UPCOMING MATCHES IN SERIE A

Inter-Udinese (Sunday 30 March, 18.00 CET) Hellas Verona-Parma (Monday 31 March 18.30 CET) (Photo Getty Images)