Preview: Udinese vs. Bologna - prediction, team news, lineups

The visitors, meanwhile, have lost both of their matches since returning to action after the World Cup.

Match preview

To everyone's surprise, Udinese flew out of the traps by gaining 19 points from their first eight matches in Serie A this season, but Andrea Sottil's side have significantly slowed down since.

Danilo's 86th-minute winner for Juventus last weekend means I Bianconeri could go 10 league games without a win should they fail to claim all three points against Bologna on Sunday.

However, only the division's top three sides have lost fewer matches than Udinese this season, suggesting Sottil has still made great progress since taking over during the summer, especially in terms of making them a tougher team to beat.

With a six-point cushion to Lecce and their forthcoming opponents Bologna in the bottom half of the table, the 49-year-old would dearly love to potentially extend that gap by finally ending their winless streak.

Bologna, meanwhile, have made a sluggish return to action following the domestic break for the recent World Cup in Qatar, with Thiago Motta's side losing by one goal to Roma and Atalanta.

Riccardo Orsolini gave I Rossoblu the perfect start at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara by scoring in only the sixth minute on Monday, but second half strikes from Teun Koopmeiners and Rasmus Hojlund saw Gian Piero Gasperini's side complete a terrific comeback.

The defeat saw Bologna stay in 12th position in the table, but with a 10-point cushion ahead of Hellas Verona and Sampdoria in the relegation places heading into the weekend's action, there is little reason for Motta to panic.

However, the former Inter Milan midfielder is likely to have high standards - both for himself and his players - and will firmly expect a reaction in Udine on Sunday.

Udinese Serie A form:

D

D

D

L

D

L

Bologna Serie A form:

W

W

L

W

L

L

Team News

Udinese will remain without former Watford left-back Adam Masina, who faces a race against time to feature again this season after rupturing his cruciate ligament in August last year.

However, Sottil appears to have a fully fit squad at his disposal otherwise, with Gerard Deulofeu potentially returning to provide an attacking spark after missing recent matches with a minor injury.

Bologna, meanwhile, will travel without Gary Medel and Nicolas Dominguez after the midfield duo both received their fifth cautions of the season against Atalanta, meaning they are suspended for one match.

Their attacking talisman Marko Arnautovic remains out until mid-February with a foot injury, while Musa Barrow, Lorenzo De Silvestri, Joshua Zirkzee and Kevin Bonifazi are all doubtful to be passed fit for Sunday's match.

Michel Aebischer and Jerdy Schouten are likely to provide the most natural replacements for Medel and Dominguez in the engine room.

Udinese possible starting lineup:

Silvestri; Becao, Bijol, Perez; Pereyra, Lovric, Walace, Makengo, Udogie; Deulofeu, Success

Bologna possible starting lineup:

Skorupski; Posch, Soumaoro, Lucumi, Lykogiannis; Aebischer, Schouten; Orsolini, Ferguson, Soriano; Sansone

We say: Udinese 2-1 Bologna

With Bologna missing several key players through injury and suspension, Udinese could hardly have asked for a better chance to end their lengthy winless run in Serie A.

While we do not expect Sottil's side to win at a canter given their recent struggles in terms of claiming all three points, we do expect them to do so, particularly if Deulofeu is passed fit to start as expected.

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