Udinese make the long trip from North-East Italy to Sardinia to face Cagliari in Serie A this Sunday.
Both sides have made disappointing starts, and the two could end the weekend in the bottom three should results elsewhere go against them.
Match preview
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After promotion from Serie B last season, Cagliari are not adjusting to life back at the top as well as they would have liked.
An opening day draw with Torino was a respectable result, but the Sardinians were no match for Inter Milan and lost 2-0 to last season's Champions League finalists.
Another defeat soon followed, going down 2-1 to Bologna before the international break, conceding in the last minute after leading at half time.
The result against Inter was Cagliari's first home defeat since last October, but they have now lost six of their last seven top-flight matches here at the Unipol Domus.
Manager Claudio Ranieri will be hoping to avoid another defeat, as that would leave them with just one point from their first four, resulting in their worst start since the 2014-15 campaign when Cagliari were relegated.
Udinese have not been favourable guests to Sardinia in recent times though, as Cagliari have taken just one point in their previous home fixtures against the Bianconeri.
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The visitors come here having made a similarly poor start though, scoring once and conceding four without winning like Cagliari have done in their opening three games.
Their good recent form in Sardinia gives them the chance to beat Cagliari for the 28th time in Serie A here though, a win that would set a club record for most wins against a single opponent.
Doing the double over Cagliari ultimately resulted in their relegation in 2021-22, as Udinese won by an aggregate score of 9-1.
Beto scored a hat-trick in a 5-1 win at the Dacia Arena, but his recent move to Everton has left a gaping hole in attack.
Lorenzo Lucca, while undoubtedly talented, is untested at this level and has yet to score in Serie A, while Brenner is not yet available due to injury.
Taking just one point from their previous six away games is cause for concern, and their only goal this season came against a Salernitana side who had one of the leakiest defences last season.
Defeat here for Udinese would see them drop into the bottom three as Cagliari would overtake them, a drastic change from the phenomenal start they made last season.
The form of Gerard Deulofeu and Beto especially saw Udinese right at the top of the Serie A during the opening months of 2022-23, but now they are bordering the relegation zone in the early stages of this campaign.
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Team News
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Cagliari have injury problems in attack, as their playoff hero from last season, Leonardo Pavoletti, missed their last game, and Gianluca Lapadula pulled out of the Peru squad for their World Cup qualifiers.
Ranieri will also be without Elio Capradossi, Marko Rog and Marco Mancosu, as all three are yet to feature so far this season.
Pantelis Hatzidiakos arrived from AZ Alkmaar late in the window and could make his debut here after appearing twice for Greece during the break.
Udinese will be without numerous first-team players for this trip, with Deulofeu the most notable absentee with a knee injury.
Kingsley Ehizibue and Enzo Ebosse are both recovering from ACL injuries, while Adam Masina and Simone Pafundi are out with muscular issues.
Brenner's arrival from Cincinnati in MLS has been a frustrating one so far, as the Brazilian has only played 26 minutes since early April.
Keeping Lazar Samardzic fit will be crucial during a minor injury crisis, as it was surprising that the club were able to fend off interest from Inter for the midfielder over the summer.
Keinan Davis joined on deadline day to link up with the ex-Watford contingent in the squad including Deulofeu, Masina, Christian Kabasele, Isaac Success, Domingos Quina and Hassane Kamara.
Cagliari possible starting lineup:
Radunovic; Zappa, Hatzidiakos, Wieteska, Augelio; Nandez, Sulemana, Makoumbou, Jankto; Luvombo, Petagna
Udinese possible starting lineup:
Silvestri; Perez, Bijol, Kabasele; Joao Ferreira, Samardzic, Wallace, Lovric, Kamara; Davis, Thauvin
We say: Cagliari 0-1 Udinese
Cagliari have been outclassed in their last two outings and could struggle again despite facing fellow early strugglers.
Udinese should have just enough quality in the squad to get them over the line here and will look towards the likes of Samardzic, Sandi Lovric and Florian Thauvin for inspiration going forward.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Andrew Delaney
