Parma vs Udinese preview, prediction, h2h, team news

Parma vs Udinese ushers in Serie A matchday nine fixtures of the midweek with a lot at stake for Nigerian goalkeeper Maduka Okoye.

Okoye has started every one of Udinese’s eight Serie A matches this season, conceding all eighteen goals the team have shipped without a single clean sheet.

The Super Eagles shot-stopper will need another big shift between the posts when Udinese travel to the Stadio Ennio Tardini on Wednesday night.

Udinese arrive on the back of five straight league defeats and sit 17th in Serie A on four points, level with a Parma side 19th in the table, when the two bottom-six sides meet at 6:30pm local time.

Both clubs sit level on four points from eight matches, with Udinese’s minus nine goal difference only marginally better than Parma’s minus ten, the two worst figures in Serie A so far this season.

The sides have met 58 times across all competitions, with Parma winning twenty-four, Udinese winning twenty-one and thirteen draws, and last season’s two league meetings between them were both won by the away team.

Maduka Okoye ready for Parma vs Udinese. Photo by IMAGO

Parma vs Udinese match radar

⚽ Parma vs Udinese
Competition	Serie A, Matchday 9
Kickoff	Wednesday, October 28, 2026 — 6:30pm (local)
Venue	Stadio Ennio Tardini, Parma
Where to Watch	Check local listings
🏴 Maduka Okoye has played every minute of Udinese’s league season so far, 18 goals conceded, still no clean sheet

Parma vs Udinese: Will Okoye play against I Gialloblu?

Inter Milan-linked Okoye has been an ever-present for Kosta Runjaić this season, starting all eight of Udinese’s Serie A matches and playing every minute of a campaign in which the team’s defensive record has worsened alongside the current five-match losing streak

Udinese’s five-match losing streak has not been kind to Okoye’s numbers, with his side shipping multiple goals in four of those five matches, including a heavy 5-3 defeat away at Inter and a goalless outing at the other end in a 0-2 loss to Milan last time out.

Across town, Parma have scored only four goals in their own last five league matches and have failed to find the net at all in two of them, so Okoye should get more protection from his own forwards’ lack of threat than Udinese’s defence has offered him in recent weeks.

Runjaić is three seasons into his spell at Udinese and fronted the press himself after the Milan defeat, insisting patience was needed with a squad missing four senior players to injury.

Maduka Okoye ready for Parma vs Udinese. Photo by IMAGO — Serie A: Parma vs Udinese. Photo by IMAGO

Fitness status: No fitness concerns. He has not missed a single one of Udinese’s eight Serie A matches this season.

Recent minutes: Started and played all ninety minutes in every Serie A match Udinese have played this season.

Rotation risk: None. He is the undisputed first-choice goalkeeper and is named the starting goalkeeper in both independently sourced predicted lineups for this fixture.

Verdict: Expected start.

Parma have their own upheaval ahead of facing Okoye, with Alberto Gilardino only appointed at the end of September after Carlos Cuesta was sacked five matches into the season.

Parma’s own defence in front of goal has been reshaped too, with Diego Carlos, on loan from Fenerbahçe since late August, now a regular in a back three assembled after the summer departures of Zion Suzuki and Alessandro Circati.

Parma vs Udinese team news

Alberto Gilardino is without four options at Parma, with Pontus Almqvist, Hans Nicolussi Caviglia and Nesta Elphege all sidelined by injury or surgery and Lautaro Valenti left out of recent squads.

Kosta Runjaić’s injury list runs even longer, with David Alaba, Idrissa Gueye, Vakoun Bayo and Alessandro Zanoli all unavailable, Oumar Solet a fitness doubt and Nicolò Zaniolo only just back from a hamstring problem after starting on the bench against Milan.

PARMA	UDINESE
Pontus Almqvist – calf injury, out Hans Nicolussi Caviglia – groin injury, out Nesta Elphege – recovering from appendicitis surgery, out Lautaro Valenti – out, absent from recent squads	David Alaba – calf injury, out Idrissa Gueye – ankle surgery, out until late December Vakoun Bayo – muscle injury, out Alessandro Zanoli – muscle injury, out Oumar Solet – fitness doubt Nicolo Zaniolo – returning from hamstring injury, started on the bench last time out

Predicted XI – Parma (3-5-2)

Corvi; Troilo, Diego Carlos, Del Prato; Britschgi, Ordonez, Sierro, Keita, Valeri; Toure, Romero

Predicted XI – Udinese (3-4-2-1)

Okoye; Kabasele, Palma, Abankwah; Vojvoda, Karlstrom, Piotrowski, Kamara; Ekkelenkamp, Zaniolo; Davis

Parma vs Udinese star player comparison

Jurgen Ekkelenkamp has been Udinese’s standout performer in an otherwise miserable campaign, directly involved in four of the team’s goals, while David Romero leads the way for a Parma attack that has struggled to find the net all season.

David Romero Forward · Parma	Stat	Jurgen Ekkelenkamp Midfielder · Udinese
2	Goals	3
0	Assists	1
7	Appearances	7
6.67	Average Rating	7.30

Parma vs Udinese: The managers

Alberto Gilardino was only appointed at Parma at the end of September, returning for a second spell in charge after Carlos Cuesta was sacked by mutual consent five matches into the season, and he has managed just one win from his first five league games back.

Kosta Runjaić is in his third season at Udinese and fronted the press himself after the home defeat to Milan on October 25, insisting patience was needed with a squad missing several senior players to injury as the five-match losing run piles pressure on his position.

The Naija Slip: Parma vs Udinese tips

Both sides have managed only one league win between them across their combined last ten matches, and Okoye’s own numbers suggest a tight, low-event game rather than an end-to-end shootout, so the slip below leans into that pattern.

El Bilal Toure and David Romero are Parma’s joint top scorers with one league goal apiece, and the pair remain the two names Okoye and Udinese’s back three will need to track closest in behind the ball.

🎯 Parma vs Udinese

Banker

Under 3.5 Goals @ 1.25

Parma and Udinese have managed only four league goals apiece across their last five matches, a shared scoring drought that makes another low-event game more likely than a sudden goal rush.

Value Play

Over 2.5 Goals @ 2.20

Parma’s last five games produced fifteen goals combined and Udinese’s produced seventeen, so even with both attacks blunted, defensive frailty on both sides makes three or more goals a live outcome.

Big Odds Flutter

Correct Score: Udinese 2-1 @ 10.00

Jurgen Ekkelenkamp has been directly involved in four of Udinese’s goals this season, and a narrow win would both end the losing run and still leave Okoye beaten once.

Free Punt

Both Teams To Score: Yes @ 1.91

Okoye has not kept a clean sheet all season, and Parma have found the net in three of their last five matches, so a goal at both ends is well supported by recent evidence.

Score prediction: Parma vs Udinese

Udinese carry more individual quality in the final third through Ekkelenkamp, and that edge should be enough to end the losing run even if Parma get a goal back through Toure or Romero.

🔮 Parma 1-2 Udinese

Ekkelenkamp gives Udinese the lead they have been missing on the road, Romero levels for Parma, and Okoye and his back three hold on just enough to end a five-match losing run. Likely scorers: Ekkelenkamp, Romero.