Udinese vs Monza

Now with relegation to Serie B is officially secured, Monza are horse racing mid-table for the late Sunday lunchtime fixture against Udinese.

While Brianzoli fight to wipe the slate clean of the record of the worst team in Italy’s premier league, their hosts are determined that they end up in the top half of the table.

Udinese looked relieved on their last outing when they were able to win their travelling goal to Cagliari 2-1, as Oier Zarraga scooped home after the break for the equalizer, and Thomas Kristensen added the other shortly after the restart.

Udinese have recorded four points from their last two games since a run of five successive defeats kept them in the running for a top-half position with Como and Torino their main contenders.

The friuli club, who narrowly escaped relegation last year, considers their finish in the 12th position, in the table a success because, they are unlikely to finish worse than 13th.

To break the three-match goalless streak at home, as well as the fact of being losing twice the streak, Kosta Runjaic’s players will want to be back on the board come next Sunday when Udinese will meet Serie A's bottom team.

Though they have only drawn twice in nine top-flight histories meeting in Udine, with 2-2 in 2022 and 0-0 last February, Udinese are strong favorites to achieve victory this weekend.

Since their home loss to Udinese 2-1 back in December, Monza has to date been unable to beat the Friuli side in Serie A – which may well be the conclusion to their efforts, sooner or later.

Having caused an uproar, the Brianzoli will slide into Serie B for the next season, with numerous big names expected to depart by summer.

Alessandro Nesta’s side remain stranded on just 15 points with three games left after a crushing 4-0 home defeat to Atalanta BC sealed their fate. The last Serie A team to finish a season with 15 or fewer points was Ancona in 2003-04 (13), though Salernitana’s 17-point campaign (2023-24) currently holds the unwanted record in a 20-team league.

Monza, in their first-ever top-flight stint, appear to be bowing out quietly—they haven’t even scored in their last four matches. Their away form has been equally dismal, losing 10 consecutive road games while conceding over two goals per match. With such a dire run, expectations will be minimal as they head north this weekend.