Despite a bright start to the season that saw Udinese briefly perched at the top of Serie A, the team has now settled back into a familiar mid-table position. In contrast, Cagliari have clawed their way out of the relegation zone with a three-match unbeaten run and could close to within a point of their nearest rivals with a win on Friday.
In their first 10 games of the current season, Udinese have suffered only three defeats, all against teams contending for a top-four finish. On Saturday, against AC Milan (0:1), the team had two goals disallowed for offside as they failed to capitalise on their one-man advantage, generating just 0.53 xG over 90 minutes. The loss of key playmakers is evident in Udinese's attack, particularly in the absence of Florian Thauvin through injury, leaving them bereft of a leader in creativity.
After a trio of clean-sheet setbacks in Serie A, Cagliari sparked a strong run last month, securing three victories alongside an away draw with Juventus (1:1). However, the Sardinians have struggled with finishing: despite recording 12.62 xG, they have netted just eight goals, with only four teams in the league posting weaker attacking figures.
It is likely that both Udinese and Cagliari will adopt a cautious approach in this head-to-head clash. As both mid-table sides are expected to find it difficult to create dangerous chances, this should lead to a result falling under the total of 2.5.
|
Kosta Runjaic
|
coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
|
In squad
|
|||
|
Maduka Okoye
|
gk. | 8 | -11 |
|
Daniele Padelli
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Edoardo Piana
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Razvan Sava
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Jaka Bijol
|
df. | 8 | 0 |
|
Kingsley Ehizibue
|
df. | 8 | 0 |
|
Christian Kabasele
|
df. | 7 | 1 |
|
Hasan Kamara
|
df. | 6 | 0 |
|
Jordan Zemura
|
df. | 6 | 1 |
|
Isaak Touré
|
df. | 4 | 0 |
|
Lautaro Giannetti
|
df. | 4 | 1 |
|
Thomas Kristensen
|
df. | 4 | 0 |
|
Axel Guessand
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Enzo Ebosse
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
James Bright Adusei Abankwah
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Jurgen Ekkelenkamp
|
mf. | 8 | 0 |
|
Jesper Karlstrom
|
mf. | 7 | 0 |
|
Sandi Lovric
|
mf. | 7 | 0 |
|
Oier Zarraga
|
mf. | 6 | 0 |
|
Martín Payero
|
mf. | 5 | 0 |
|
Arthur Atta
|
mf. | 2 | 0 |
|
David Pejičić
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Rui Modesto
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Brenner Souza da Silva
|
fw. | 8 | 1 |
|
Keinan Davis
|
fw. | 8 | 0 |
|
Lorenzo Lucca
|
fw. | 8 | 3 |
|
Florian Thauvin
|
fw. | 6 | 3 |
|
Iker Bravo
|
fw. | 5 | 0 |
|
Alexis Sánchez
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Damian Pizarro
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Gerard Deulofeu
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Davide Nicola
|
coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
|
In squad
|
|||
|
Simone Scuffet
|
gk. | 8 | -13 |
|
Alen Sherri
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Giuseppe Ciocci
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Gabriele Zappa
|
df. | 8 | 0 |
|
Sebastiano Luperto
|
df. | 8 | 0 |
|
Tommaso Augello
|
df. | 8 | 0 |
|
Yerry Mina
|
df. | 7 | 0 |
|
Paulo Azzi
|
df. | 5 | 0 |
|
Adam Obert
|
df. | 3 | 0 |
|
Mateusz Wieteska
|
df. | 1 | 0 |
|
Răzvan Marin
|
mf. | 8 | 2 |
|
Alessandro Deiola
|
mf. | 7 | 0 |
|
Michel Adopo
|
mf. | 6 | 0 |
|
Antoine Makoumbou
|
mf. | 5 | 0 |
|
Gianluca Gaetano
|
mf. | 5 | 0 |
|
Nadir Zortea
|
mf. | 5 | 1 |
|
Nicolas Viola
|
mf. | 5 | 1 |
|
Matteo Prati
|
mf. | 3 | 0 |
|
Jakub Jankto
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Roberto Piccoli
|
fw. | 8 | 2 |
|
Zito Luvumbo
|
fw. | 8 | 0 |
|
Gianluca Lapadula
|
fw. | 5 | 0 |
|
Leonardo Pavoletti
|
fw. | 5 | 0 |
|
Kingstone Mutandwa
|
fw. | 2 | 0 |
|
Mattia Felici
|
fw. | 1 | 0 |
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Serie A
