Parmavs
UdineseTwo clubs who are absolutely desperate for points meet at the Stadio Ennio Tardini, and honestly it is hard to know which side needs this more. Parma are sitting second bottom, Udinese are breathing down their necks and rapidly running out of goodwill from their own supporters. Both managers are under pressure and both squads look rattled. So the question is simple: who finds something, anything, to cling to here?
This preview digs into the form, the injuries, the head to head, and tries to find the value in what looks like a genuinely unpredictable bottom of the table scrap in Serie A.
Parma vs Udinese Match Details
The game takes place at Stadio Ennio Tardini in Parma, with this being a gameweek nine fixture in the Serie A 2026/27 season. Both clubs are in the lower reaches of the table and a defeat for either side could push them deeper into genuine relegation trouble. The stakes could hardly be higher for a match this early in the campaign.
Team News
Neither side is going into this in the best of health, which only adds to the difficulty of picking a winner. Gilardino is short of options in key areas, and Runjaic has his own selection headaches to manage.
- Nesta Elphege is out for Parma with illness
- Pontus Almqvist is sidelined with a calf problem
- Hans Nicolussi Caviglia is unavailable due to a thigh injury
- Lautaro Valenti has been absent since mid September but is nearing a return, with Gilardino expected to make a late call on his fitness
- For Udinese, David Alaba remains out with a calf complaint, Vakoun Bayo is missing with a thigh injury, and Idrissa Guey is sidelined through an ankle problem
- Alessandro Zanoli and Oumar Solet are both doubts with muscle issues and are touch and go ahead of this one
Predicted Lineups
Gilardino looks set to line up in a shape that offers some defensive solidity while still getting bodies in the right areas to threaten on the break. Parma have barely scored this season so he needs to find a way to be competitive without leaving his back four exposed.
Parma likely eleven: Corvi; Diego Carlos, Troilo, Drobnic; Delprato, Sierro, Keita, Valeri; Toure, Lontani; Romero
Runjaic does not have a great deal of room to manoeuvre given his injury list. Okoye should start in goal behind a back three, with Ekkelenkamp and Chakvetadze tasked with supporting Keinan Davis, who badly needs a goal to settle the nerves.
Udinese likely eleven: Okoye; Abankwah, Kabasele, Ebosse; Vojvoda, Karlstrom, Piotrowski, Kamara; Ekkelenkamp, Chakvetadze; Davis
Recent Form
Parma have had an absolutely wretched start to the season. Five goals in eight league games is the worst return in Serie A, and the only reason they are not in the bottom three right now is that other results have gone in their favour. What is slightly encouraging is that the 2 1 defeat to Lazio actually had some shape to it for the first half. They held joint leaders Lazio level at the break and competed properly, which is more than they have done in a number of their earlier games. The goal itself was fortuitous, Simone Lontani’s attempted cross looping in off the post, but they will take it all the same. Gilardino needs to find a way to build on that second half collapse being the exception rather than the rule.
Udinese, though, are in free fall. Six straight defeats tells its own story, but it is the goals dried up narrative that makes this particularly alarming for their fans. They have failed to score in three of their last four matches, including back to back home losses to Lecce and Milan by scorelines of 3 0 and 2 0. For a club that scored in each of their first six games across all competitions, including netting three times in a 5 3 thriller against Inter, the turnaround in form has been staggering. Keinan Davis, the man who bagged ten last season, has contributed precisely nothing in Serie A this term. Nicolo Zaniolo has barely featured. Arthur Atta has left for Fiorentina. Runjaic is trying to build something with the pieces that remain, and right now it is not working.
Udinese’s only Serie A scorer with more than two goals is Jurgen Ekkelenkamp, who has three. Hassane Kamara has two. That is a paper thin attack for a team that was once considered a solid midtable outfit. They need a response here and they need it fast, because the manager’s position is clearly under serious threat.
Head-to-Head Record
These two sides have a fairly even historical record against each other, with meetings between them often being low scoring and tight affairs. Parma at home have generally made themselves difficult to beat in this fixture, and the home advantage factor could be meaningful here given Udinese’s recent away form has been poor. There is nothing in recent head to head history that screams obvious advantage for the visitors, and with Udinese having lost six on the bounce, the pressure of travelling to a ground where the home side are fighting for their lives is a significant psychological hurdle.
Key Stats
- Parma have scored only five Serie A goals this season, the fewest in the division, and conceded fifteen
- Udinese have failed to score in three of their last four matches across all competitions, losing all four of those games
- Udinese have now lost six consecutive matches, and a seventh defeat would heap enormous pressure on Kosta Runjaic’s position as manager
Parma vs Udinese Betting Tips
This is a game where neither side looks likely to blow the other away, and the main angle has to be low scoring with the possibility of Parma nicking it at home. Two teams without confidence in front of goal, under pressure managers, and an atmosphere at Tardini that will be tense rather than free flowing. The betting opportunities here are in the goals markets and the result rather than trying to find a goalscorer from two of the most misfiring attacks in the division.
Correct Score Prediction
Given how poorly both sides have been scoring, and the pressure on both sets of players, a tight home win feels right. Parma edging it 1 0 is the call, with Lontani or Romero the most likely source of a goal if it arrives.
Over and Under Goals Prediction
Under 2.5 goals looks the standout pick here. Parma have the worst attack in Serie A and Udinese have blanked in their last two outings. The conditions are set up for a grinding, nervy affair with very little quality in the final third from either side.
Corners Prediction
Neither side is likely to dominate possession or push aggressively enough to generate a high volume of corners. Under 9.5 corners makes sense for a game that is likely to be scrappy and condensed in the middle of the pitch rather than played through the wide areas with any regularity.
Both Teams To Score (BTTS) Prediction
No is the call here, and it is not a difficult one. Udinese have failed to find the net in their last two games and Parma have barely scored all season. The chances of both sides contributing a goal in this fixture feel slim at best. BTTS No looks solid value.
First Goalscorer Prediction
David Romero is the pick here. He has two league goals already for Parma, making him one of only three players to have scored for the club in Serie A this term, and as the focal point of their attack he will be looking to make his mark in a game Parma absolutely need to win. The home crowd behind him and a vulnerable Udinese defence could help him find the net.
Bet Builder Tip
| Market | Selection |
|---|---|
| Match Result | Parma to Win |
| Both Teams To Score | No |
| Total Goals | Under 2.5 |
A Parma win with the game staying tight and BTTS landing no all point to the same thing: a low scoring home victory where Udinese’s attacking problems prove their undoing.
Final Match Prediction
Parma 1 0 Udinese is the final call. The home side have the motivation, the crowd and crucially an opponent who cannot score at the moment. Gilardino will have had his players fired up after their promising first half showing against Lazio, and facing a Udinese side that has lost six straight and gone two games without a goal feels like the right moment to dig out a result.
Runjaic may well be managing his last game here if things go wrong, and that sort of atmosphere around a squad rarely brings out the best in players. Parma are far from convincing, but this fixture sets up for them in a way that very few have so far this season. One goal could be enough, and we think it will be.
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