After losing in the round of 16 to Lazio 1-0 after extra time last season, Udinese will be hoping for a more successful Coppa Italia campaign this year, but first they will have to get past Monza in the second round on Wednesday night at Stadio Friuli.
Monza lost in the first round last season against Cittadella, so their progression to the second is already an improvement and after signs of their form picking up in the league, they will be hopeful they can pick up a result in this fixture.
Match preview
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Udinese have made a great start to the Serie A season, with new manager Andrea Sottil helping his team to make great strides so far, sitting fifth in the Serie A table.
In the last month, they have had some impressive results including a 3-1 win against Inter Milan and draws against Atalanta BC and most recently Lazio.
Sottil's side have already played against Monza in the league, picking up three points in a 2-0 away win, with Beto and Iyenoma Udogie both finding the net. However, Monza were under the management of Giovanni Stroppa at the time, and he has now been replaced.
Beto has scored five goals for Udinese since joining from Portuguese side Portimonense in the summer, and after slowly being eased into the starting 11, he has held down a position in the lineup, partnering Gerard Deulofeu as one of the two strikers in the 3-5-2.
Their first-round game against third division side FeralpiSalo was a much closer affair than they probably wanted it to be, with a narrow 2-1 home victory. They scored from their only two shots on target, with a penalty from Deulofeu and a goal from Isaac Success.
Udinese were in the first-ever final of the Coppa Italia, losing 1-0 to Vado in the 1922-23 season, and have not appeared in a final since. If they can carry their league form into the cup and get some favourable draws, they could find themselves getting close to a final appearance again.
After a difficult start to their first season in the Serie A, the people in charge at Monza decided to make a change and replaced Stroppa with Raffaele Palladino, whose reign could not have got off to a better start with a win against Juventus, and two more wins since then before suffering a defeat to Empoli on Saturday.
Since Palladino joined the club, the defence has improved significantly, conceding only once in four games. The defence has not changed in personnel, still operating with Pablo Mari, Marlon, and Armando Izzo as the three central defenders, but the formation has changed from a 3-5-2 to a 3-4-3.
Their first-round cup game was a close contest against Frosinone, with Monza taking a 2-0 lead with two penalties in the first half before their opponents got back into the game. An 83rd-minute winner from Christian Gytkjaer secured their place in the second-round.
Monza have improved their Coppa Italia performances in the last five years, after a period of struggling to make it past the second round, a spell which was broken by a third-round appearance in 2019-20. They will be hoping to find their way back to this stage again in this fixture against Udinese.
Team News
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Rodrigo Becao came back into the defence against Lazio after missing their previous game, and would be expected to start in this fixture.
The only other change to the side was Lazur Samardzic coming into the midfield for Sandi Lovric and with Samardzic in better form, it is likely that he will keep his place in the starting lineup.
Nicolo Rovella was sent off in the late stages of the game against Empoli for Monza so will be suspended for this fixture, with Filippo Ranocchia an option to replace him.
Izzo missed the last fixture against Empoli and was not present in the matchday squad. If his absence continues, Luca Caldirola may keep his spot in the three-man defence.
Udinese possible starting lineup:
Silvestri; Perez, Bijol, Becao; Udogie, Makengo, Walace, Samardzic, Pereyra; Deulofeu, Beto
Monza possible starting lineup:
Di Gregorio; Caldirola, Mari, Marlon; Carlos, Sensi, Ranocchia, Ciurria; Caprari, Gytkjaer, Pessina
We say: Udinese 2-0 Monza
With their impressive form in the league, the expectation would be a win for Udinese. Even though Monza have improved, Udinese may be a test too far at this stage of their development.
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