- Udinese have won 2 and drawn 1 of their last 5 matches, beating Nottingham Forest (1-0) and FC Barcelona (1-0) in their last 2.
- Padova have won 2, drawn 1 and lost 2 of their last 5 fixtures, beating Cesena (4-3) in their latest away fixture.
- Udinese are a much bigger club with better players and will come at Padova with a control strategy, so the visitors will have to counter punch well to keep this close.
Udinese are favourites to pass into 2nd round
Udinese Calcio go into Saturday's Coppa Italia 2026-2027 tie with Padova as huge favourites, but the odds are slightly skewed in favour of the Serie A team.
A quote of 37/100 on the Bianconeri to defeat Padova seems a bit skinny, given that the Biancoscudati have played some really good football in recent times, especially away from home.
Kosta Runjaic has done a decent job in charge of Udinese since 14 June 2024, especially in terms of getting his team to play in a structured, disciplined manner with a flexible back-three or back-four shape.
Udinese play with a good tempo and are organised when pressing opponents, while they show some guile in their ball progression and forward play.
At home, in all competitions, Udinese have won 2, drawn 1 and lost 3 of their 6 matches, scoring 0.83 goals per game and conceding 1.00 goals per outing.
Padova have won 1, drawn 1 and lost 4 of their 6 away matches in all competitions, but they have scored 1.50 goals per match on average away from the Stadio Silvio Appiani.
And Antonio Nicola Calabro's men are capable of playing on the front foot, so don't be surprised if they take the game to Udinese from the off.
Padova can play in a good way
Calabro has been in charge of Padova since 13 June 2026 and he has them playing in a compact, aggressive style with a 3-man base, vertical play and field reversals that get players in behind.
It's a formula that has served them well and their most recent away match against Cesena (4-3) showed the hosts that Padova can trade blows if needs be.
So, there is every chance that this one could be closer than the odds suggest, although Udinese have the edge on paper.
We'd rather play Over 2.5 goals at 7/10, which fits the fact that Padova have played some open games recently and it allows the visitors to play on the front foot again.
Keinan Davis has 2 of Udinese's 5 goals in their last 5 games, while Luca Di Maggio has 2 of Padova's 5 in their most recent 5 outings, so the goals from these two men could be key in deciding the tie.
Padova have won 4, drawn 1 and lost 5 of their last 10 in all competitions, so the form looks mixed and it is difficult to fancy them to pull off a giant-killing at odds of 71/10.
