Udinese vs Lecce Prediction, H2H Stats & Statistical Bets 18 October 2026

Last season, Udinese made a genuinely positive impression, playing decent football and regularly picking up respectable results. This autumn, however, there is barely any trace of that team. The Zebrette have had a poor start to the campaign and after six rounds sit just 15th in the table with only four points. They also go into this match on the back of four consecutive defeats.

In the previous round, Udinese disappointed their supporters again, losing 1-2 to Torino. The opponents are far from their best form too, so the Friulians had every reason to expect a positive result - yet they could not get one, despite enjoying clear territorial dominance: they had significantly more possession (62% to 38%) and more shots (15 to 12). On the surface the statistics seem to favour Udinese, but a closer look tells a very different story. The hosts did not create a single clear-cut chance, while Torino had four. The gap in expected goals was also significant - 0.76 xG against 1.72 for the opponents.

Lecce are not faring much better. After six rounds, the Salentini have just six points and sit 13th in the table. All of those points have come against Serie A newcomers, and they have found things considerably harder against more established sides in the division.

The defeat in the previous round was particularly painful. Lecce hosted Bologna, who were in the relegation zone at the time and had yet to win a single league match. The hosts, however, failed to take advantage of their opponents' difficulties and lost 1-2. Lecce had the better of the game for long stretches, taking 19 shots to Bologna's 10 and holding 57% possession to Bologna's 43%. But territorial dominance brought no reward, as the visitors were far more dangerous when it came to finishing. Bologna created three clear-cut chances to Lecce's two and significantly outperformed the hosts in expected goals - 1.84 xG to 1.21. The defeat, then, was not undeserved.