Parma and Udinese will face each other for the 49th time in Serie A on Monday. The balance is slightly in favour of the hosts, with 21 wins compared to Udinese’s 16, and 11 draws. However, the Friulians are unbeaten in the last two meetings between the sides (a 3-2 win at Bluenergy Stadium and a 2-2 stalemate at the Tardini in 2020/21).
Udinese entered the international break in excellent form, collecting seven points from their first three matches, with one draw and back-to-back wins. A third straight victory would allow Udinese to match their starts from the 2000/01 (under Luigi De Canio) and 2014/15 (under Andrea Stramaccioni) seasons, as the only times they’ve won three of their opening four games. Securing another three points would also see Kosta Runjaic equal the best Serie A start for a manager in the Udinese hotseat, joining Giovanni Galeone (2005/06).
So far, Udinese has proven to be effective in both attack and defence. The team has the fourth-best scoring efficiency in Serie A (18.2%), behind only Juventus, Inter and Hellas Verona. They also rank third, behind Inter and Juventus, for the difference between goals scored and expected goals (+1.2). Defensively, Runjaic’s men lead the league in this metric, conceding 4.2 goals fewer than expected.
A large part of this defensive success is owed to Maduka Okoye. The Nigerian goalkeeper has made more saves than anyone else since the start of 2024 (72) and this season he has saved 86% of the shots he’s faced, placing him third behind Michele Di Gregorio (Juventus) and Zion Suzuki (Parma). However, Suzuki will miss the match at the Tardini due to suspension. In Udinese’s defence, Jaka Bijol has also stood out, leading Serie A in terms of headed clearances (17), tied with Ardian Ismajli (Empoli).
Florian Thauvin also leads an important statistic: successful dribbles. The Frenchman has completed more take-ons (eight) than any other player in Serie A, tied with Vitinha (Genoa) and Tommaso Augello (Cagliari). His performances have helped Udinese to the top of the team rankings for successful dribbles (28). Additionally, Thauvin’s attacking partners have been rejuvenated in recent matches. Lorenzo Lucca has registered three goal involvements (two goals and one assist) in his last six Serie A matches, matching his tally from his previous 16 games. Brenner has also been involved in two goals (one goal and one assist) this season, after failing to find the net last season.