AC Milan will aim to extend their lead at the Serie A summit when they welcome struggling Udinese to the San Siro on Friday night.
Milan sit two points clear of arch-rivals Inter and third-place Napoli, although Inter have a game in hand on the other two frontrunners.
At the opposite end of the table, Udinese find themselves sixteenth – three points clear of the relegation zone and a whopping 31 points behind Milan.
AC Milan head into Friday’s clash on a four-game unbeaten streak in Serie A, having picked up two wins and two draw since losing to Spezia in mid-January.
They have also lost just one of their previous eight league matches, securing five wins and two draws along the way.
With 52 goals to their name, Milan are the third-highest scorers in Serie A. That said, they have conceded more goals than four of their rivals.
Milan have been playing catch-up for the majority of the campaign, but Inter’s recent wobble has enabled them to take control of the title race.
On the flip side, Udinese are in real danger of getting relegated if they don’t turn things around pretty quickly.
They have managed to win just five of their 24 Serie A games this term, registering ten draws and nine losses in the process.
Udinese were able to secure an impressive 1-1 draw with Lazio last weekend. However, they have only won two of their previous 12 league outings.
Given that nine of Udinese’s past ten Serie A games have produced over 1.5 goals, Friday’s clash should dish up plenty of action.
Head-to-head: Udinese have only managed to win one of their last nine Serie A encounters with AC Milan.
It is also worth noting that both teams have scored in each of the previous four league meetings between the teams.
Team news: AC Milan look set to be without the injured trio of Simon Kjaer, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Marko Lazetic on Friday.
Udinese also have a couple of injury worries ahead of Friday’s clash, with Antonio Santurro and Bram Nuytinck expected to miss out.
Given the contrasting fortunes of these two sides, all the signs point towards a straightforward home win on Friday night.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that high-flying Milan will keep a clean sheet on their way to dispatching lowly Udinese.