Roma vs Udinese – Serie A: Match Preview & Predicted Lineups | OneFootball

After a chaos-filled week, Roma are back in action as Ivan Juric makes his debut on the bench against Udinese.

Roma enter a new era this weekend when they welcome in-form Udinese to the Stadio Olimpico.

Just four games into the 2024/25 season, the Giallorossi made a surprising announcement on Wednesday, revealing that they had dismissed manager and former club captain Daniele De Rossi.

Roma have yet to secure a win in the new Serie A season, with three draws and one loss to Empoli. The slow start prompted the club to axe the 41 year-old, who signed a three-year contract just three months ago, and name former Verona and Torino boss Ivan Jurić as his replacement.

The situation is the exact opposite for visitors Udinese. The Friulians have started the season strong under new manager Kosta Runjaić—collecting 3 wins and 1 draw thus far.

Kick-off is scheduled for 18.00 CET at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

Roma

Still reeling from the fallout of De Rossi’s shocking exit, Roma hope to move past the chaos and secure their first win of the season with new manager Ivan Jurić.

It’s a huge opportunity for the Croatian, whose teams are known for their work rate and high intensity, to prove he’s worthy of a big club after earning praise for his work in recent seasons with Torino. His contract goes through the end of the season and includes an automatic renewal in the case of Champions League qualification.

The work starts Sunday when surprise Serie A leaders Udinese visit the Stadio Olimpico, where fans will protest the club’s ownership and their poor handling of De Rossi’s exit.

Nonetheless, Jurić will be tasked tasked with revitalising a Roma side struggling to find their scoring touch. They’ve only found the back of the net twice in four games and have struggled to make the most of their goalscoring chances.

It’s believed he’ll continue to rely on the 3-4-2-1 formation he preferred during his time with the Granata—with question marks likely at wingback and attack.

On the flanks, Alexis Saelemaekers is unavailable for 2-3 months after undergoing surgery on his injured ankle. Meanwhile the club is expected to reintegrate wide-man Nicola Zalewski, who was originally frozen out of the squad after he refused to accept a transfer prior to the deadline.

In attack, it remains to be seen how Jurić handles the trio of Paulo Dybala, Matias Soule, and Lorenzo Pellegrini—all of whom are candidates to play behind Artem Dovbyk.

Udinese

Udinese, meanwhile, have started the season impressively under Kosta Runjaic, currently sitting atop the Serie A table. They will look to continue their strong form and snap the run of poor results they’ve had in recent seasons against the hosts.

With 10 points from their first four games, Udinese has matched their best-ever start to a Serie A season, which occurred during the 2000/01 campaign under Luigi De Canio.

In addition, manager Kosta Runjaic (3W, 1D) is only the third manager in Udinese’s history to remain unbeaten in his first four Serie A games in charge of the team, following Giovanni Galeone (3W, 1D) in 2005/06 and Enzo Ferrari (2W, 2D) in 1980/81.

However, the Friulian side have struggled mightily against Roma—dropping 18 of their last 22 games against Roma in Serie A since the 2013/14 season.

Predicted Lineups

ROMA (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Mancini, Ndicka, Hermoso; Celik, Konè, Cristante, Angelino; Dybala, El Shaarawy; Dovbyk

Unavailable: Enzo Le Fée, Alexis Saelemaekers

UDINESE (3-5-2): Okoye; Kristensen, Bijol, Kabasele; Ehizibue, Karlstrom, Payero, Lovric, Kamara; Thauvin, Lucca

Unavailable: Alexis Sanchez, Lautaro Giannetti