Udinese vs Roma Prediction: Gasperini’s Men to Overwhelm Runjaic’s Fragile Side

Udinese are 17th with five points from nine matches, stuck in the relegation zone without a win in their last six, whereas Roma sit third with 21 points and have yet to lose a league game.

Udinese's last five reads D-L-L-L-L: a 0-0 draw with Parma on 28 October, a 0-2 loss to Milan, then a 0-3 defeat to Lecce the week before that and two more losses either side. A goal difference of minus nine, built on defensive collapses and near-total attacking absence, is the summary. Roma have had their own messy moments, notably a 3-3 draw with Napoli on 24 October but they followed it up with a 4-2 win over Cagliari three days later. They are conceding but they are also scoring freely, which matters far more when you are playing a side that has rarely looked like scoring in recent weeks.

Both teams are dealing with serious absentees, though the consequences differ enormously. Udinese are without Alaba (calf), Solet (muscle), Gueye (ankle), Bayo (thigh) and Zanoli (muscle), losing two centre backs, a midfield anchor, a striker and a full back all at once, which for a side already shipping goals freely is close to a crisis. Roma are missing Dybala (calf), Pellegrini (thigh), Kone (thigh) and goalkeeper Svilar (broken finger), which hurts but they have the squad depth to absorb those losses in a way Udinese simply do not.

Runjaic's side will almost certainly sit in a low block and hope Roma have an off day but without Alaba and Solet holding the defensive structure together and Gueye screening the back four, their ability to do even that is unlikely to hold. Without Bayo they also have no aerial target to fall back on for those rare moments when they do get the ball forward. Gasperini's Roma favour a high line and, even in this depleted form, should have more than enough to dominate possession against a side this short of bodies, with second ball wins in midfield the most direct route to keeping Udinese pinned back.

Udinese cannot replace two centre backs and a striker in one week and that structural deficit shapes everything that follows. Their injury list has gutted their defensive shape and their attacking options, leaving them poorly equipped to handle a Roma side that scored four against Cagliari three days after conceding three to Napoli, pressing forward regardless of defensive exposure. Roma should score early and, once they have the lead, Udinese have shown no sign this season that they can come from behind, meaning the margin at full time could be wider than the scoreline suggests. Udinese 0-3 Roma.