Seeking their third Serie A home win from four, Udinese will host a revived Genoa side on Monday.
The Fruilani have just exited the Coppa Italia but sit safely in mid-table, while their Ligurian counterparts are facing a long battle for Serie A survival.
Match preview
Continuing his return to form, Udinese’s Nicolo Zaniolo was on target again last weekend, as the Bianconeri beat Parma 2-0 at Stadio Tardini.
Sealing the deal against 10 men, the Italy forward’s partner Keinan Davis then converted a penalty, wrapping up a win that kept the Friuli club safely inside Serie A’s top half.
Seven of their points had already come via goals scored by Zaniolo, having played a key role in previous victories over Parma and former club Atalanta BC, plus a 1-1 draw with Cremonese.
However, he failed to find the net on Tuesday, when Udinese travelled to Turin for a last-16 cup clash with Juventus.
Kosta Runjaic’s side conceded midway through both halves as they slumped out of the Coppa Italia, so they will just have the league to focus on for the rest of this season.
Next up in Serie A are opponents that Udinese have struggled to defeat in recent years, having lost their last three meetings with Genoa without scoring, also losing five of the previous six.
© Imago / Gribaudi-ImagePhoto
Furthermore, Genoa have been beaten just once across their last five visits to Udine, and that defeat dates back to November 2020.
More recently, the Grifone have shown signs of recovering from an awful start to the current campaign, which cost former boss Patrick Vieira his job.
Since the Frenchman’s departure, Genoa are unbeaten in four league matches, having begun with six defeats from the first nine.
Last week, new coach Daniele De Rossi celebrated a vital 2-1 home win over fellow strugglers Hellas Verona, with goals from Lorenzo Colombo and Morten Thorsby securing maximum points.
So, the Ligurian club could now win successive Serie A matches for the first time since January 2024 by beating Udinese.
However, like Monday’s hosts, Genoa have just been dumped out of the cup, losing 4-0 to Atalanta after young winger Seydou Fini was sent off in the first half, and they have not kept a clean sheet in seven games.
Udinese Serie A form:
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Udinese form (all competitions):
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Genoa Serie A form:
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Genoa form (all competitions):
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Team News
© Imago / IPA Sport
After being forced off in the second half of Udinese’s Coppa Italia loss to Juventus, French midfielder Arthur Atta has been ruled out for the next fortnight with a thigh injury.
Wing-back Hassane Kamara is also unavailable due to a foot problem, but Thomas Kristensen recently returned to the squad after a long layoff and should be named on the bench.
Runjaic made several changes in the cup, but regulars such as Davis and captain Jesper Karlstrom should be back in the hosts’ starting XI on Monday.
While Zaniolo will spearhead their front line, having scored four Serie A goals since the start of October, he has yet to find the net against Genoa in any competition.
The visitors’ attack is usually led by Colombo, who has found some form since Vieira’s departure, scoring twice in three league games.
De Rossi also rotated his squad in the Coppa Italia, but the likes of goalkeeper Nicola Leali and goalscoring centre-back Leo Ostigard will return to the lineup in Udine.
Brooke Norton-Cuffy served a Serie A suspension last week but is now available, so only injured winger Maxwel Cornet is set to miss out.
Udinese possible starting lineup:
Okoye; Bertola, Kabasele, Solet; Zanoli, Ekkelenkamp, Karlstrom, Piotrowski, Zemura; Zaniolo, Davis
Genoa possible starting lineup:
Leali; Marcandalli, Ostigard, Vazquez; Norton-Cuffy, Frendrup, Malinovskyi, Thorsby, Martin; Vitinha, Colombo
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We say: Udinese 2-1 Genoa
Though Genoa are clearly improving under new management, they remain very vulnerable at the back; so, a well-drilled Udinese team should take advantage.
Both sides have conceded a league-high 12 goals after half time, meaning this contest could open up as the minutes tick on.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
