Torino – Udinese

Udinese will score points against Torino

Torino had a very difficult match on Wednesday. The Bulls faced Fiorentina on the road in the Italian Cup quarter-final. The Turin side lost 2-1 to the Florentines and left the tournament. Interestingly, the clubs met just over a week ago, but in the league. Back then, Torino managed to pull off the win. Ivan Juric put on a pretty competitive squad for the cup game, which was very close to the basics. That said, many of the players (especially in the defensive third) played their second game in a row with an interval of four days. Prior to that, the Bulls faced Empoli in the league. They were trailing 2-0 at the half but saved the encounter thanks to goals from Ricci in the 82nd minute and Sanabria in the 85th. Two emotionally and physically exhausting matches will not be good for Ivan Djuric's side. That said, their schedule is no better - Torino face Milan in five days' time. Udinese have yet again missed out on a win where they should have. The Friuli shared points with Verona, although they dominated the entire encounter. The team's xG ratio reached 2.48, while Hellas managed 0.48 goals. However, in conjunction with the match against Sampdoria, we can talk about an improvement in the quality of the Bianconeri's football. It should be recalled that the encounter with the Genoese ended in a narrow victory for Andrea Sottile's charges. Those three points were their first after an 11-match unbeaten streak. A big loss for the team over the next couple of months will be Gerard Delofeu's injury. However, the club have worked on the transfer market: Mateusz Martins, Sekou Diawara and Florian Tauvin have been acquired. The latter results allow Sottile's men to remain in seventh place. However, the team will need to improve their stability and execution if they want to retain their place in the European competitions. Torino came away with a 1-2 win in the first leg. Now, the balance of power may depend on the physical condition of the teams. Torino are coming up to this game after a series of tough, exhausting fixtures with a minimum break in between. Udinese, on the other hand, were playing against teams from the relegation zone and have had plenty of rest. Although the bookmakers think Turin are the favourites, the Friuli are capable of clinching a point in this game.