After failing to close the gap on leaders Napoli, Inter Milan return to action with a Serie A fixture against Udinese on Saturday.
Inter Milan were disappointing in their previous Serie A fixture as they were held to a 0-0 draw by strugglers Sampdoria. They dominated possession but were wasteful in attack, failing to convert any of their 25 attempts on goal.
While Inter Milan will be ruing the wasted chances, the most disappointing thing about the result is that they have lost further ground to Napoli. Simone Inzaghi’s men are still second but now sit 15 points off the pace.
The rest of Serie A now appears to be jostling for the places behind Napoli and having won their previous three matches, Inter Milan will be keen for a swift return to winning ways. They head into Saturday’s clash with six wins from their last seven matches at the San Siro, keeping five clean sheets in that run.
Udinese travel to the San Siro off the back of a 2-2 draw with Sassuolo in their previous Serie A fixture. They will be disappointed to have come away empty handed having led twice through Destiny Udogie and Jaka Bijol.
The result extends Udinese’s recent poor run as they are now winless in their last 14 Serie A matches. The problem appears to be an inability to hold on to leads which has led to too many draws lately, as evidenced by the stalemate with Sassuolo.
Udinese have also found things difficult on their recent travels with just one win from their last seven away matches. Andrea Sottil’s men have suffered three defeats in the last four matches in that run and were beaten 1-0 by Torino in their previous fixture on the road.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have installed Inter Milan as overwhelming favourites with a home win priced at 8/15 by SBK. A victory for Udinese is valued at 11/2 by William Hill while Coral is offering odds of 16/5 for a draw.
Recent head to head
Udinese claimed a 3-1 victory in the reverse fixture back in September but Inter Milan had won five of the previous seven meetings. The Nerazzurri have also won the last four fixtures at the San Siro.
Players to watch
Lautaro Martinez was one of the guilty parties in Inter Milan’s stalemate with Sampdoria and will be keen to set things right on Saturday. The Argentine striker has seven goals in his last nine matches and is priced at 7/5 with bet365 to find the net.
The one positive in the result against Sampdoria is that it maintains Inter Milan’s recent defensive solidity as they have now kept clean sheets in their last three matches. Stefan De Vrij and Milan Skriniar should continue at the heart of the defence and can lead the hosts to another clean sheet at 13/10 with Coral.
Anything else catch the eye?
Inter Milan have won to nil in five of their last seven home matches and could be set for a repeat at 17/10 with BetVictor. A number of those results have been one-sided which means a -1 handicap could be considered at 7/5 with Paddy Power.
With a one-sided match expected on Saturday, Inter Milan could be tipped to score in both halves at 11/8 with bet365.
This Serie A match between Inter Milan and Udinese will be played on Feb 18, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Inter Milan vs Udinese prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
