JAKARTA - The competition on the Serie A stage once again presents an interesting drama this weekend. Two mid-table clubs, Udinese and Sassuolo, are scheduled to clash in the opening match on Sunday, February 15 local time. This match is very crucial because both teams have just swallowed a bitter pill last week, so victory is a death penalty to restore their fighting spirit.
After recording a winning streak that brought them into the top ten, Udinese's move stopped dramatically when they visited Lecce's home. Kosta Runjaic's team actually performed quite convincingly when defeating AS Roma in Udine some time ago. However, the absence of a number of pillars in the front line made them lose sharpness, until finally the late goal from Lameck Banda forced Udinese to return empty-handed.
Even so, the Friuli Stadium remains a pretty haunted fortress for its opponents. Udinese has a history record that is quite favorable because they are unbeaten in the last six home games when hosting Sassuolo. The main challenge for the host at this time is to improve the effectiveness of their attack, considering that their average goal at home is quite minimal throughout this season.
On the other hand, Sassuolo came with a pretty deep wound after being beaten by a crushing five-goal defeat without a response by the leader of the standings, Inter Milan. The defeat not only damaged their positive trend, but also left a serious personnel problem. Experienced midfielder, Nemanja Matic, is confirmed to be absent due to a ban after disciplinary action against the referee in the previous match.
The good news for the visiting team is the return of the captain and key player, Domenico Berardi. Berardi's presence proved to be able to lift the team's performance, as seen when they won against Cremonese and Pisa. The heavy task now lies on Berardi's shoulders to supply the ball to Andrea Pinamonti, who is currently struggling to break his long-running goal drought.
Regarding the latest squad conditions, Udinese still has to wait patiently for the recovery of Keinan Davis and Alessandro Zanoli. However, there is a fresh wind with the return of Adam Buksa and Jakub Piotrowski to full training sessions. The figure of Nicolo Zaniolo, who has started to get playing minutes after recovering from injury, is also predicted to appear from the start of the match to add the home team's power on the wings with Jordan Zemura.
Sassuolo themselves have to concoct a strategy without the presence of Matic, Edoardo Pieragnolo, and Fali Cande. Coach Fabio Grosso will likely rely on a trio of midfielders, which is filled by Thorstvedt, Lipani, and Kone to maintain the balance of the team. In the back line, a combination of center backs like Jay Idzes and Walukiewicz is expected to be able to dampen the speed of the Udinese attackers.
If you look at the record of the two teams meeting, Sassuolo did win convincingly in the first meeting in September. However, their away form has deteriorated sharply since the beginning of the year has become a concern in itself. On the other hand, Udinese, known to be difficult to beat in front of their own supporters, is predicted to perform more dominantly to secure the full points.
This match is expected to be very tight. Udinese will likely win by a narrow margin with a score of two to one, considering Sassuolo's defense has recently been quite easy to break through. Will Domenico Berardi be able to erase Sassuolo's bad record in Udine, or will Udinese celebrate their revival in front of their own public? We just wait for the match.
Prediction of Formation:
Udinese (3-5-1-1): Okoye; Bertola, Kristensen, Solet; Ehizibue, Atta, Karlstrom, Ekkelenkamp, Zemura; Zaniolo; Bayo.
Sasuolo (4-3-3): Muric; Walukiewicz, Idzes, Muharemovic, Doig; Thorstvedt, Lipani, Kone; Berardi, Pinamonti, Lauriente.
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