Player statistic
| D. Udogie |  |
5' | ||
| 45+1' |  |
P. Dybala |
| 45+1' | |
P. Dybala | ||
| 52' | |
L. Pellegrini | ||
| L. Samardzic (Assist: Gerard Deulofeu) |
|
56' | ||
| D. Udogie | |
62' | ||
| J. Makengo | |
66' | ||
| R. Pereyra (Assist: Jean-Victor Makengo) |
|
75' | ||
| S. Lovric (Assist: Roberto Pereyra) |
|
82' | ||
| R. Pereyra | |
90' |
Match statistic
Roma are back in action on Sunday evening as they look to extend their season-opening unbeaten streak to five.
The Giallorossi travel to Friuli to face-off against Udinese at the Dacia Arena in round five of Serie A.
Both sides enter the clash in good form with the hosts fresh-off an impressive 1-0 home victory over Fiorentina.
However, Udinese have struggled mightily against Roma in recent seasons. The Zebrette have only 3 wins in the previous 20 meetings against the capital club in all competitions. Roma attained 10 clean sheets against Udinese during this stretch
After rotating some of his squad in Monday’s win over Monza, Jose Mourinho is expected to field his preferred starting formation with Paulo Dybala and Tammy Abraham leading the attack.
La Joya opened his goalscoring account with Roma on Monday in their 3-0 dismantling of Monza. He’ll be relied upon to continue his momentum against Udinese—the team he has scored (12) and assisted (8) more times against than any other Italian club.
Meanwhile, Udinese boss Andrea Sottil will be forced to deal with the absence of veteran defender Adam Masina. However, defender Nehuén Pérez returns to the fold after serving his two-match suspension.
“I have huge respect for Roma, but we’re at home and we have to focus on ourselves. We have to play our game. We’ve prepared as we always do and will take to the pitch with humility, knowing we’ll need to perform at 120%,” Sottil stated ahead of the match.
“The players are ready and fired up. They’re fully focused and they’re also excited for the game.”
“It’ll be really exciting for me as I’ll be up against a coach who’s won everything in the football world. He’s certainly one of the best in the world. We have to increase the level of excitement, cohesion and understanding by turning in top Udinese performances.”
“That means playing with humility and a ruthless streak while also playing good football. We need to get the fans behind us and I think that’s the way to create a mix that can make the difference at home.”
Kick-off is scheduled for 20.45 CET in Udine at the Dacia Arena.
