Preview: Udinese vs. Torino - prediction, team news, lineups

While the Bianconeri remain dangerously close to the drop zone despite beating Lazio last time out, their visitors are aiming to finish inside the top half of the table.

Match preview

When Udinese do achieve a rare win, they tend to cause an upset: the Friuli club have won just four of 28 Serie A matches this season, but each success has come against a side battling for European qualification.

After beating both Juventus and AC Milan away from home, in addition to thumping fourth-placed Bologna 3-0, Gabriele Cioffi's men took another scalp on Monday, when they saw off Lazio at Stadio Olimpico.

Producing a result that saw Biancocelesti boss Maurizio Sarri depart soon after, Udinese scored through Lorenzo Lucca and Oier Zarraga to run out 2-1 winners and pull further clear of the relegation zone.

The Bianconeri now seek back-to-back league wins for the first time in a year, having so often disappointed their fans by failing to convert one point into three.

Including a 1-1 outcome to December's reverse fixture, Udinese (15) and Torino (11) have drawn more Serie A matches this season than any other sides, while this week's hosts also lead that metric across all of Europe's top five leagues.

After a goalless stalemate with Fiorentina and a subsequent 1-1 result against reigning champions Napoli, Torino have typically drawn both of their last two games ahead of Saturday's contest.

Now approaching the run-in, Toro are starting to stumble, with a total of two points from four games seeing them lose touch with several other sides chasing European football for next season.

After losing to capital clubs Roma and Lazio, and recording low-scoring draws in both matches since, the Granata's main problem has become ever more apparent: only four teams have netted fewer goals.

Under the watch of coach Ivan Juric, Toro tend to come up short against Calcio's big guns but regularly beat teams below them: remarkably, they are yet to lose against any team now inside the bottom half of the standings, conceding only four goals in the process.

Having won half and drawn half of those 14 matches, Juric will surely expect his men to succeed in Udine, where Torino have lost on just one of their last six visits.

Udinese Serie A form:

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Torino Serie A form:

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Team News

Although Udinese boss Gabriele Cioffi will have Festy Ebosele and Walace back at his disposal following one-match bans, defensive mainstay Nehuen Perez was dismissed late in the win over Lazio and must therefore serve a suspension.

Long-term absentees Enzo Ebosse and Gerard Deulofeu should be the only other men missing on Saturday, when seven-goal top scorer Lorenzo Lucca will aim to find the net in successive Serie A appearances for the first time.

Torino, meanwhile, are afflicted by several absences, including defenders Koffi Djidji (thigh), Adrien Tameze (hamstring) and Perr Schuurs (ACL); another centre-back, Matteo Lovato, is struggling with a muscular problem and may not be passed fit.

In more positive news for Ivan Juric - who is again banned from the touchline - Italy midfielder Samuele Ricci returns from suspension and could replace Gvidas Gineitis in the Granata's engine room.

Starting up front - most likely alongside last week's goalscorer Antonio Sanabria - leading marksman Duvan Zapata has scored six Serie A goals against Udinese to date, including his first-ever hat-trick in Italy.

Udinese possible starting lineup:

Okoye; Ferreira, Giannetti, Kristensen; Pereyra, Lovric, Walace, Zarraga, Kamara; Thauvin; Lucca

Torino possible starting lineup:

Milinkovic-Savic; Sazonov, Buongiorno, Rodriguez; Bellanova, Linetty, Ricci, Lazaro; Vlasic; Sanabria, Zapata

We say: Udinese 1-1 Torino

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