AC Milan will be visiting Udinese’s home ground in the early hours of Sunday, March 19, 2023, in the 27th round of Serie A, the Italian league. The match will take place at Stadio Friuli, Udine, Italy at 2.45 am (UTC+7). Currently occupying the fourth position in the Serie A standings, AC Milan is two points behind Inter Milan in the second position, while Udinese is placed eleventh.
Head to head, Udinese and AC Milan have encountered each other 61 times in the Italian domestic competition since May 2000. During that period, AC Milan has dominated with 30 victories against Udinese’s 17, while the rest of the matches ended in a draw. Furthermore, AC Milan has not lost in their last six encounters against Udinese in the Italian League since the 2019-2020 season.
A series of disappointments in the recent Serie A matches have left AC Milan unable to overtake Lazio in third place. They were held to a draw by Salernitana in their last match at San Siro after losing to Fiorentina earlier. Additionally, they played a goalless draw against Tottenham in the last leg of the Round of 16, although they ultimately qualified for the quarterfinals. AC Milan has conceded the most goals through crossing (12 times) in the Italian League, and three of their last four conceded goals were through this method. However, the credit goes to coach Stefano Pioli’s strategy of fortifying a three-back formation that has brought AC Milan out of their poor form throughout January 2023.
On the other hand, Udinese boasts a good record when playing against AC Milan, losing only once in their last eleven encounters despite never winning at their opponent’s ground since 2008. Moreover, they have won three out of their last eight home matches against AC Milan. Udinese, led by Andrea Sottil, is determined to exploit the momentum of their last weekend win, ending a run of six consecutive games without winning. They have also kept a clean sheet in their last two matches and will seek to repeat the feat when they host the reigning champions.
The predicted starting line-up for Udinese includes Rodrigo Becao, Jaka Bijol, and Nehuen Perez in the solid backline that have held a goals conceded record of 0.75 per match. Meanwhile, AC Milan will miss Junior Messias due to a thigh injury, and Olivier Giroud due to a match ban. Zlatan Ibrahimovic will likely fill Giroud’s shoes upfront, accompanied by Ante Rebic and Rafael Leao, while Sandro Tonali will return to the starting lineup in midfield.
Udinese’s fourth home success of the season is expected to face stiff competition from AC Milan, who are looking for their first win in four games. The game is predicted to be a tight affair, with the opening goal probably coming in the middle of the match. As a result, the team that scores first will be in a better position to win, and thus, the predicted scoreline is Udinese 1-2 AC Milan.
