Udinese host Hellas Verona on Sunday afternoon as both teams begin to look to round off 2014 with some better form than they have shown in recent weeks.
It seems as though Udinese may be the likelier of the two after they scored a 2-1 victory over Inter at the San Siro last Sunday after recovering from a Mauro Icardi opener. Cyril Thereau and Bruno Fernandes netted in the second half to send the away fans home happy.
On the other hand Verona lost 3-1 to Sampdoria on Monday despite a brief respite when Luca Toni equalised Eder’s penalty for the ten men. They eventually succumbed to two more goals from Okaka and Gabbiadinni.
The leading light for Udinese is Antonio Di Natale. The man who almost quit last summer is on fire once again and the man with the seasonal name could write his own headlines on Sunday. In direct competition is the afore-mentioned Toni. A different striker to the clever movement of Di Natale. Toni’s physical presence is still vital to Verona and will have to be watched by the Udine defenders.
Verona haven’t won in Serie A since the start of October where they won 1-0 at home to Chievo. This includes three defeats in a row as any kind of consistent form seems to elude Mandorlini’s men.
Last season saw Verona win 3-1 in Udine with the away supporters hoping for more of the same on Sunday afternoon. Luca Toni netted twice that day and despite his club’s struggles, Toni is still finding the net.
The former Bayern Munich man has scored four times this term for the under performing side whereas Di Natale has betted seven in 14. It really looks to be a titanic battle between the two Italian veterans but they won’t be the only ones keen to catch the eye.
Cyril Thereau and Bruno Fernandes are both capable of goals with Fernandes capable of some individual genius as at San Siro last weekend. Javier Saviola could have an impact if allowed time on the pitch for Verona and Nico Lopez has been a thorn in the side of a few clubs this term including at Inter where they snatched a point.
Mexican international and former Barcelona stalwart Rafael Marquez will miss this one as he serves his ban following Monday’s red card.
This is the game on Sunday for fans of nostalgia and people who like seeing that the old boys still have it but both teams will see this as a winnable match to push them up the table to stop recent form slumps.
Expected Starting XIs
Udinese: Karnezis, Piris, Danilo, Heurtaux, Widmar, Guilherme, Allan, badu, Thereau, Fernandes, Di Natale
Hellas Verona: Rafael, Agostini, Rodriguez, Moras, Gonzales, Halfredsson, Tachsidis, Campanero, Christodoulopolous, Toni, Nico Lopez
