Udinese v AS Roma: Preview, predicted line-ups & Serie A betting tips

Udinese went into midweek needing something, anything, from a trip to Parma, and left with a 0-0 draw that ended a run of six straight league defeats. It was a point, but it left them 17th on five points, level with Fiorentina and Parma in the bottom three. Saturday brings the opposite end of the spectrum. Roma arrive third, unbeaten after nine games and fresh from a 4-2 home win over Cagliari on Tuesday. The Friuli has not been kind to the hosts this season: no home wins from five, two goals scored and nine conceded. Udinese's last home fixture against Roma, though, ended 1-0 in their favour in February.

Roma's league form reads W-W-W-W-D-D-W-D-W across nine matches, with 23 goals scored (2.6 per game) and eight conceded (0.9). The season data shows five clean sheets, and only one blank in front of goal. They have been especially strong at home, with 14 goals from five games, but the away record is sound too: two wins, two draws and three goals conceded in four trips.

There is a caveat in the way they have started games in recent weeks. A 3-3 draw at Napoli on 24 October showed that Roma can be opened up, and the season numbers show 30.4% of their goals arriving between the 76th and 90th minutes. They have not needed to hold leads often, which may explain why their late-game control has not been tested as much as the clean-sheet count suggests.

Udinese's season has been defined by an inability to score at the Friuli. The form data shows 0.4 goals per home game, three failed-to-score outcomes in five, and no home wins. Away from Udine they have been livelier, with seven goals in four games and a 3-2 win at Monza on 29 August, but the 5-3 defeat at Inter on 14 September also shows where that openness can lead.

The stakes are plain. Udinese sit two points behind Monza in 16th and level on five with Fiorentina and Parma, with Venezia on three. A result against a top-three side would ease the pressure, but a defeat would leave the bottom of the table very tight, with the hosts only ahead of Fiorentina on goal difference (-9 against -10).

Over the supplied nine-match samples, Udinese have one win, two draws and six defeats, scoring nine and conceding 18. Roma have six wins, three draws and no defeats, with 23 scored and eight conceded. The one point in Udinese's favour is the Parma draw, which ended a run of six consecutive league defeats and was only their second clean sheet-style result of the campaign in terms of defensive solidity. Roma's three draws, though, all came away or against strong sides (Napoli, Inter, Como), which suggests the weaker opposition has been beaten.

Roma are third on 21 points from nine games, four behind Inter and Lazio on 25 and one clear of Como in fourth on 20. Udinese are 17th on five points from nine, two behind Monza (7) and level on points with Fiorentina and Parma, who sit below them on goal difference.

For Roma a win would hold the gap to the leaders at four points and give some cushion over Como and AC Milan (18). For Udinese it is a chance to climb out of the bottom group, but a loss could drop them into the relegation places depending on the other results, as Fiorentina and Parma are both on the same points total.

The last 10 meetings in Serie A favour Roma heavily: seven wins to Udinese's two, with one draw. Those games have averaged 2.6 goals, with both teams scoring in 40% (four of 10) and over 2.5 goals in 60% (six of 10). The most recent game was on 2 February 2026 at the Bluenergy Stadium, where Udinese won 1-0.

The pattern is a Roma edge that is firmer at home than in Udine: of the five meetings in the supplied sample, Roma won both home fixtures 2-0 and 3-0, but the three at Udine split two Roma wins and the 1-0 Udinese win. The BTTS rate of 40% points towards a result where one side fails to score, which matches this season's numbers: Udinese have failed to score in four of nine, while Roma have kept five clean sheets. The goals line is close to a coin flip on the H2H alone, but the 0-2 and 1-2 scorelines both sit within the historical range.

The widest gap is in chance creation. Roma average 19 shots and 6.0 on target per game over their last nine, against 14.67 and 4.11 for Udinese. That volume has translated into 2.56 goals per game against 1.0, and the xG gap of 2.23 to 1.14 suggests Roma's output is sustainable.

The second is defensive: Roma have conceded 0.89 goals a game with an expected figure of 1.39, whereas Udinese concede 2.0 with an xG against of 2.23. Possession (56.7% against 50.7%) and corners (6.0 won per game against Udinese's 4.22, with Udinese conceding 5.22) round out the picture. Roma are likely to spend more time in Udinese's half, and the corner count could also lean their way.

Both sides have mostly used a 3-4-2-1 this season (Udinese in all nine games, Roma in six of nine), and that is the likely shape again. Udinese have to find a replacement for the injured attackers, and their back line depends on late fitness tests. Roma's selection problems are in goal and midfield.

Udinese: Okoye; Kabasele, Goglichidze, Ebosse; Ehizibue, Karlström, Zarraga, H. Kamara; Ekkelenkamp, Zaniolo; Davis.

AS Roma: Vásquez; Mancini, Ndicka, Hermoso; Rensch, Cristante, de Roon, Wesley; Soulé, Pisilli; Malen.

Kick-off at the Bluenergy Stadium is at 5pm GMT on Saturday 31 October 2026. DAZN holds the Serie A rights in the UK and the game is shown on DAZN where selected. A specific channel or free-to-air slot for this fixture has not been confirmed, and this page will be updated closer to kick-off if that changes.

The strongest angle is the contrast between Roma's away defence and Udinese's home attack: three goals conceded in four away league games against two scored by the hosts in five at the Friuli. That points to a Roma win with Udinese struggling to score, so the picks below lean towards a low-scoring away victory instead of a high-scoring game.