Udinese and Spezia Calcio will both be looking to bounce back from opening-day defeats when the two Serie A sides meet at the Dacia Arena on Wednesday evening.
Udinese marked their return to top-flight action with a 1-0 loss to Hellas Verona, whereas Spezia's first-ever game in Serie A saw them lose 4-1 to Sassuolo.
Match preview
Udinese managed to pick up three wins from their final four in the 2019-20 Serie A campaign – including a memorable 2-1 triumph against champions Juventus – but Luca Gotti's side have not started the new campaign as they would have hoped.
Indeed, Le Zebrette fell to a 1-0 defeat to Hellas Verona in their first game of the 2020-21 season, with Andrea Favilli's 57-minute strike ultimately proving decisive on Sunday.
The Udinese faithful would love for their side to push for a top-half finish after placing 13th last term, but Le Zebrette have not finished higher than 12th since the 2012-13 campaign, and Gotti is facing a tough ask to propel Udinese back into European contention.
Furthermore, an empty Dacia Arena certainly seemed to affect Udinese at the end of last season – Le Zebrette's famous victory over Juventus was their only win in six home matches following the resumption of football, and Gotti's men have prevailed just twice on familiar territory in Serie A since the turn of the year.
Meanwhile, Spezia's welcome to the big time was certainly a humbling experience for the newly-promoted side, who are plying their trade in Serie A for the first time in the club's 114-year history.
An exciting Sassuolo outfit marched to a resounding 4-1 victory over Vincenzo Italiano's side, with all four of Sassuolo's attacking quartet getting on the scoresheet on Sunday.
Spezia are certainly most people's favourite for a swift return back to the second division, but one early defeat can never expect to foreshadow a team's results for the rest of the campaign, and Italiano's men could yet prove their Serie A credentials as the season gathers pace.
However, the Aquilotti face testing fixtures against AC Milan and Fiorentina following their clash with Udinese, although Spezia did manage to prevail against Le Zebrette in the third round of the 2016-17 Coppa Italia – the first time the two sides had met since 1950.
Udinese Serie A form: L
Spezia Calcio Serie A form: L
Team News
Udinese will have to make do without Mato Jajalo and Rolando Mandragora, the latter of whom will likely be sidelined for another couple of months.
Danish full-back Jens Larsen is also expected to miss this one out but should return to action next month.
Despite suffering a drab opening-day defeat, Gotti could keep faith in the same starting lineup from the weekend, despite Rodrigo De Paul's links with Leeds United.
Spezia have a number of absentees to contend with for the midweek showdown, with Federico Matiello, Elio Capradossi, Giuseppe Mastinu and Ricardo Marchizza all unavailable.
However, Italiano will welcome Giulio Maggiore and club captain Claudio Terzi back from suspension, while Inter Milan loanee Lucien Agoume will be hopeful of getting some first-team action.
Udinese possible starting lineup:
Musso; De Maio, Becao, Samir; Avest, Coulibaly, De Paul, Arslan, Zeegelaar; Lasagna, Okaka
Spezia Calcio possible starting lineup:
Zoet; Ferrer, Chabot, Erlic, Dell'Orco; Ricci, Pobega, Maggiore; Agudelo, Galabinov, Gyasi
We say: Udinese 2-0 Spezia Calcio
Neither team covered themselves in glory on the opening weekend and will be desperate to kickstart their seasons at the second time of asking. While Udinese's recent home form is nothing to write home about, Gotti's men should prove too strong for the newly-promoted outfit, so we are backing Le Zebrette to march to victory.
