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

The visitors, meanwhile, are heading into the weekend's action sitting only one position above the relegation zone.

Match preview

Having began the season on fire with 19 points from eight matches, Udinese have slowed down in recent weeks with three draws and one defeat seeing them drop to eighth in the table.

However, they still possess a five point gap ahead of ninth-placed Torino prior to their home match against Lecce on Friday, which if they win would take them above Roma on goal difference and into fourth place, for the time being at least.

Head coach Andrea Sottil would have been disappointed to witness his side being held 0-0 by Cremonese on Sunday, with I Bianconeri failing to convert 60% possession of the ball across 90 minutes into many clear cut chances as the hosts held on for only their fifth point of the season.

With Stadio Friuli roaring them on this weekend, Sottil will expect his players to return to winning ways against another struggling side in the form of Lecce on Friday.

Indeed, Lecce have found things tough going since being promoted as Serie B champions last season, taking only two points from their last five matches.

Their 2-1 win away to Salernitana prior to that recent run remains their only league victory of the campaign so far, having been beaten 1-0 at home to Juventus last time out.

Despite the tight scoreline, Marco Baroni's side failed to lay a glove on their more illustrious opponents, with Wojciech Szczesny not forced into making a single save as Juventus dominated with 64% possession at Stadio Via del mare.

Baroni will be aware that his side will require a much better performance if they are to gain a positive result in Udine on Friday, although he will be encouraged by their forthcoming opponents' recent drop in form.

Udinese Serie A form:

W

W

D

D

L

D

Udinese form (all competitions):

W

D

D

L

L

D

Lecce Serie A form:

W

D

L

D

L

L

Team News

Udinese will be without Rodrigo Becao and Sandi Lovric due to hamstring injuries, with neither likely to feature prior to the World Cup, while former Watford defender Adam Masina is doubtful due to a knee issue.

Lazar Samardzic is likely to replace Lovric in midfield having done so during last weekend's draw with Cremonese, with Sottil lacking options to mix things up any further.

Lecce, meanwhile, should travel with a fully fit squad as Baroni appears to have no injury or suspension concerns restricting his selection.

Despite struggling to impose themselves against Juventus last time out, the former Frosinone boss may have been satisfied with his side's overall defensive resilience, and therefore he is likely to ask the same starting XI to go out once again albeit with more courage in possession.

Udinese possible starting lineup:

Silvestri; Perez, Bijol, Ebosse; Pereyra, Samardzic, Walace, Arslan, Udogie; Isaac, Delofeu

Lecce possible starting lineup:

Falcone; Gendrey, Pongracic, Baschirotto, Gallo; Blin, Hjulmand; Oudin, Gonzalez, Strefezza; Ceesay

We say: Udinese X1-0 Lecce

We expect Udinese to return to winning ways on Friday, although only by the tightest of margins.

Despite losing half of their games so far this season, Lecce have rarely been thrashed, with only eight teams in the division boasting a superior defensive record than them.

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