Separated by two points in the Serie A standings, Udinese and Hellas Verona meet at Stadio Fruili on Sunday afternoon.
While Hellas are stuck inside the relegation zone following 12 games without a win, their hosts have recently inched up the table after making a change in the dugout.
Match preview
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Although they were eventually beaten 3-1 by Roma last weekend, Udinese pushed their capital-city counterparts all the way at Stadio Olimpico, where they were level until conceding twice in the last 10 minutes.
Florian Thauvin's second-half strike had given the Bianconeri hope of securing a rare win in Rome, but they ultimately came up short, ending a brief revival since former Verona coach Gabriele Cioffi returned to the hotseat a few weeks ago.
Picking up four points from tough tests against Milan and Atalanta BC had helped Cioffi's men edge their way out of the drop zone, but they still await a first league victory in Udine this season following six previous attempts - in addition to a Coppa Italia defeat there against Cagliari.
Now the only team still seeking their first home win in Serie A, having drawn four and lost two times so far, only in the 1982-83 campaign have Udinese ever failed to win any of their opening seven matches on home soil.
In all, the Fruilani have drawn eight out of 13 in the league this term, so they will be determined to avoid missing out again on Sunday, as they host one of the few sides below them in the standings.
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Without a win in six league visits to Udine, Verona have taken maximum points just twice in their last 13 Serie A meetings with this week's opponents - and recent form suggests they may struggle to reverse such a trend.
Sitting second-bottom of the table, the club that only survived relegation via a dramatic playoff last season seems set for another grim battle against the drop, having nosedived down the standings following a long winless run.
Despite fighting back twice to draw 2-2 with Lecce last time out, as Cyril Ngonge and Milan Djuric both levelled the scores at Stadio Bentegodi, Hellas have yet to taste victory since beating Roma in August.
Along the way, Marco Baroni's men have lost five of their last six league matches on the road, failing to even find the net in four of the last five.
Nonetheless, the Gialloblu remain only one point adrift of safety, and with almost two-thirds of the season still to play, they are still very much in the mix for Serie A survival.
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Potentially without captain Roberto Pereyra once again, after the Argentinian midfielder trained individually this week following his absence against Roma, Udinese will also be missing an integral member of their back three on Sunday.
Slovenian centre-back Jaka Bijol has been ruled out until 2024 by a stress fracture of his left foot, so ex-Watford pair Christian Kabasele and Adam Masina will both be in contention to replace him.
Gerard Deulofeu and Brenner remain unavailable due to injury, so with his forward options limited, Gabriele Cioffi should keep faith in Isaac Success, who scored his first Serie A goal against Verona in October 2021. However, since then, the Nigerian striker has had some 71 attempts at scoring in the top flight, finding the net only twice.
The visitors, meanwhile, are set to be without defensive duo Giangiacomo Magnani and Pawel Dawidowicz this weekend, but coach Marco Baroni otherwise has a fully fit squad to choose from.
Hellas captain Milan Djuric will start up front following his late equaliser last week, while Belgian winger Cyril Ngonge - the club's leading scorer on three goals - should be retained too.
Udinese possible starting lineup:
Silvestri; Perez, Kabasele, Masina; Ebosele, Samardzic, Walace, Payero, Zemura; Thauvin; Success
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Terracciano, Hien, Amione, Doig; Folorunsho, Duda; Ngonge, Suslov, Lazovic; Djuric
We say: Udinese 1-0 Hellas Verona
With just three league wins between them all season, confidence will be fragile in both camps when Udinese host Hellas Verona, so a single goal could prove enough to seal victory. An overdue win in front of the Fruili faithful would lift the hosts further clear of the drop zone; deepening their visitors' woes.
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Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
