High-flying Udinese host Atalanta at the Stadio Friuli on Sunday afternoon in Serie A with both sides looking for points but for different reasons.
Udinese have started their season strongly, winning four of their first five matches. However their form has slipped a bit recently, going winless in their last two, with the loss to Torino last weekend coming at the hands of Zebrette old boy Fabio Quagliarella.
That said, Andrea Stramaccioni’s charges sit in fifth place in Serie A, above the likes of Lazio, Inter and Napoli.
Atalanta head into the fixture struggling quite a bit, having lost four of their last six matches, but will take heart after a last-gasp win over Parma last weekend saw them move away from the relegation zone. They currently hold the dubious distinction of being Serie A’s lowest goalscoring club, having only netted three goal so far this season.
In last season’s correponding fixture, Udinese and Atalanta split the points in a 1-1 draw, Davide Brivio netting for the visitors, before Antonio Di Natale bagged a penalty to salvage a point for the Zebrette. All in all, they’ve faced each other 34 times in league play, with Udinese holding a slight edge, winning on 13 occasions with Parma emerging victorious in 10.
Udinese will be expecting the return of Panagiotis Kone in attack, who should provide some energy and ideas for the attack. While Simone Scuffet is still out with an ankle problem, though Gabriel Silva could be fit enough for a place on the Zebrette bench.
Atalanta will likely be looking for a spark, as they are expected to start Ghanaian starlet Richmond Boakye, who will be looking to add to his two goals so for this season. Alejandro Gomez is touch and go as to whether he will be fit enough, but Marcelo Estigarribia is definitely missing after he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee whilst on international duty.
Expected Starting XIs
Udinese: Karnezis, Widmer, Heurteaux, Domizzi, Piris, Pinzi, Allan,Guilherme, Kone, Thereau, Di Natale
Atalanta: Sportiello, Zappacosta, Biava, Benalouane, Drame,Carmona, Cigarini, Baselli, D’Alessandro, Boakye, Moralez
