Unexpectedly trailing their less-heralded visitors in the Serie A standings, AC Milan will aim to overtake Udinese by winning at San Siro on Saturday.
Having lost to Fiorentina just before the international break, Milan sit two points behind the Friulani, who are flying high with four wins from seven so far.
Match preview
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Shortly after suffering a second Champions League loss in two games, Milan travelled to Tuscany for a league clash with Fiorentina earlier this month, when their run of misery outside Italy's second city continued.
After losing in Leverkusen, the Rossoneri went behind when on-loan Viola midfielder Yacine Adli scored against his parent club, and despite Christian Pulisic extending an impressive scoring streak to equalise, they ultimately left Stadio Franchi empty-handed following a 2-1 defeat.
That setback brought an abrupt halt to their four-match unbeaten sequence in Serie A, also confirming a certain flakiness on the road; in contrast, they are undefeated in three league contests at home this season.
Indeed, Paulo Fonseca's side have won their last two without conceding a goal, meaning Milan could now keep a clean sheet in three consecutive home matches for the first time since mid-2022, which would perhaps quieten their new coach's critics.
With pundits continuing to highlight his team's defensive deficiencies, Fonseca cannot afford another slip-up this weekend, when losing would mean Milan recording five defeats from their first 10 fixtures across all competitions - only twice before has that happened throughout the past 80 years.
Therefore, replicating last season's dramatic 3-2 win in Udine would help alleviate some pressure on the Rossoneri's Portuguese tactician.
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Of course, in-form Udinese will have other ideas, instead hoping to repeat an improbable victory when they most recently met Milan at San Siro - a 1-0 success in November last year.
Winning back-to-back away games against the Rossoneri for the first time ever would continue a superb start to the season for a side now managed by Kosta Runjaic, following a very close brush with relegation last term.
Stretching back to Udinese's successful fight for Serie A survival, they have won six of their last 10 league matches - which is as many as across the previous 46 - and Runjaic has been in charge for four.
Added to a couple of Coppa Italia victories over second-tier opposition, that makes for an excellent start to his time in Udine, where the Friulani beat Lecce last time out, thanks to Jordan Zemura's late free kick.
That left them occupying fifth spot on 13 points, just three behind table-topping Napoli - and ahead of mighty Milan before the sides meet this weekend.
Team News
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As flying full-back Theo Hernandez must serve a suspension, having been sent off deep into stoppage time against Fiorentina, Milan boss Paulo Fonseca will be forced to make at least one change to a fairly settled lineup.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek has returned to fitness following a flexor problem, but Marco Sportiello (hand), Ismael Bennacer (ankle), Alessandro Florenzi (ACL) and Davide Calabria (calf) are still sidelined by injury.
Alvaro Morata should beat Tammy Abraham to selection up front; while Rafael Leao, Samu Chukwueze and Noah Okafor are all in contention for places in the final third, Christian Pulisic is sure to feature.
For the first time to date, Pulisic has scored in four straight league matches, and only five Milan players have found the net in five consecutive Serie A games during the three-points-for-a-win era. The USA star could join an illustrious cast featuring Olivier Giroud, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (twice), Pippo Inzaghi, Andriy Shevchenko (twice) and George Weah.
Meanwhile, Italy striker Lorenzo Lucca and French forward Florian Thauvin have been Udinese's most prolific players this season, each netting three times so far.
The latter has effectively earned his team six points, thanks to three goals and an assist; incidentally, only Leao has completed more dribbles (16) than Thauvin (13) in the Italian top flight.
However, he is still injured, as is Alexis Sanchez, who must wait a while longer to make his second debut for the Friulani due to a calf problem. Midfield duo Martin Payero and Sandi Lovric are back in the fold, though.
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Emerson, Gabbia, Tomori, Terracciano; Fofana, Reijnders; Chukwueze, Pulisic, Leao; Morata
Udinese possible starting lineup:
Okoye; Kabasele, Bijol, Giannetti; Ehizibue, Lovric, Karlstrom, Zarraga, Zemura; Ekkelenkamp; Lucca
We say: AC Milan 3-1 Udinese
Defensive doubts may always plague Paulo Fonseca's teams, but they often outscore more modest opposition - particularly on home turf.
While, on current form, Udinese can compete with most Serie A sides on their day, Milan will ultimately wrap up maximum points and move above their visitors in the table.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
