Serie A Preview: Udinese – Roma

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Mirko Vucinic - Roma - Serie A (Grazia Neri)

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• Udinese

Kick-Off: Wednesday, October 28, 20:45 CET.
Friuli Stadium, Udine.

Marino On The Way Out?

Udinese’s narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of Palermo at the weekend extended the club’s run to three successive league defeats, placing further pressure on under-fire coach Pasquale Marino, who is facing criticism from all corners of the Italian peninsula.

Considering the fact that the Bianconeri managed to defeat Milan and Genoa within the space of a few days around one month ago, Marino is desperately unlucky to be on the receiving end of such harsh words, and his future as coach of the club remains in the balance.

President Giampaolo Pozzo is extremely disappointed with his trainer, and the lack of faith he has may reach boiling point this week if the Zebrette fail to defeat an out of sorts Roma side.

Marino is unlikely to make any changes from the starting XI who were defeated in Sicily just a few days ago, but he will certainly be doing all he can to ensure that his side snap their winless run, which in turn may save his skin at the club.

Roman Ruins

Roma suffered a shock defeat at the hands of then-bottom club Livorno, going down 1-0 thanks to a first half strike from Francesco Tavano, a former Giallorossi player.

That defeat was the club’s first against the Amaranti at home since way back in 1947, and it consequently extended their recent run to three matches without a victory in all competitions.

It’s a simple task for I Lupi: they must win in order to bounce back from what has been the most disappointing week in Claudio Ranieri’s short tenure at the club thus far.

The Romans were controversially edged out by a struggling Milan outfit, suffering a 2-1 defeat at the San Siro before failing to defeat English Premier League strugglers Fulham at Craven Cottage last week, requiring a last minute equaliser in order to attain a point.

In addition to this, the Giallorossi players will be keen for revenge after losing this fixture 3-1 last season.


FORM GUIDE

Udinese

October 25 v Palermo (A) – LOST 0-1 (Serie A)

October 18 v Atalanta (H) – LOST 3-1 (Serie A)

October 3 v Inter (A) – LOST 2-1 (Serie A)

September 27 v Genoa (H) – WON 2-0 (Serie A)

September 23 v Milan (H) – WON 1-0 (Serie A)

Roma

October 25 v Livorno (H) – LOST 0-1 (Serie A)

October 22 v Fulham (A) – DREW 1-1 (Europa League)

October 18 v Milan (A) – LOST 1-2 (Serie A)

October 4 v Napoli (H) – WON 2-1 (Serie A)

October 1 v CSKA Sofia (H) – WON 2-0 (Europa League)


TEAM NEWS

Udinese:

Marino will be without four players through injury: Christian Obodo, Damiano Ferronetti, Mauricio Isla and Maurizio Domizzi. Simone Pepe and Alexis Sanchez are likely to start up front alongside captain Antonio Di Natale once again.

Possible Starting XI (4-3-3): Handanovic; Basta, Coda, Zapata, Lukovic; Inler, D’Agostino, Asamoah; Sanchez, Di Natale, Pepe.

Roma:

The visitors have been rocked by the news that Francesco Totti will be out for up to 30 days after the club decided that he should undergo an operation on his right knee. Max Tonetto is still out injured, whilst he has been joined by David Pizarro, who picked up a knock against cellar dwellers Livorno at the weekend. Marco Motta returns from injury, but Nicolas Burdisso is expected to get the nod at right-back, with Juan and Philippe Mexes playing in the centre of defence.

Possible Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Doni; Burdisso, Mexes, Juan, Riise; Brighi, De Rossi; Taddei, Perrotta, Menez; Vucinic.


PLAYERS TO WATCH

Udinese – Gaetano D’Agostino: The midfield maestro has not been at his very best thus far this season, and this could be a reason why his side have been so inconsistent to this point. He certainly is aiming at next year’s World Cup with Italy, and if he wishes to be there, a strong performance against the Roman giants would go a long way to ensuring that he achieves his dream.

Roma – Mirko Vucinic: The Montenegrin had a plethora of opportunities to score against Livorno at the weekend, and he was often booed by his own supporters for his failure to find the back of the net. If this isn’t enough to spur him into action in Udine, nothing will be.

PREDICTION

It’s a crucial contest for both sides, as failure to attain all three points would extend that club’s winless run to four games. The Bianconeri have matched up well against the Romans in the past, and, unfortunately for both teams, this clash is destined to end all square.

Udinese 1-1 Roma

Adrian Del Monte, Goal.com