Preview: Udinese vs Como - prediction, team news, lineups

After last term's stunning top-four finish, Como will kick off the new Serie A campaign with a trip to Udinese on Saturday.

Languishing in Italy's third tier just six years ago, the Lariani are now preparing for Champions League football; meanwhile, their hosts have already made a successful start to the 2026-27 season.

Match preview

Udinese were back in competitive action last weekend, hosting Serie B side Padova in the Coppa Italia, and a first-half strike from main man Keinan Davis proved enough to secure progress.

Before returning to the cup early next month, when they will welcome Venezia to Udine in round two, the Fruilani are set to start their latest league campaign.

Now approaching his third year in charge, Kosta Runjaic led them to 10th place last season, continuing a steady trajectory of improvement since he took charge.

Amid a busy summer fielding bids for several stars - with Arthur Atta and Thomas Kristensen the main departures to date - they experienced mixed fortunes during pre-season.

Having lost three of their first four friendlies, the Bianconeri then beat both Nottingham Forest and Barcelona in unusual circumstances: a pair of 1-0 wins in 45-minute matches helped the hosts claim the Friuli Venezia Giulia Cup.

So, after building more momentum with their Coppa Italia victory last time out, they should be ready for a testing opener in Serie A.

En route to pipping AC Milan and Juventus to Champions League qualification last season, Como drew 0-0 with Udinese in early April, before back-to-back defeats left their hopes hanging by a thread.

Inspired by much-admired coach Cesc Fabregas, the Lariani then responded with four wins from their last five fixtures, which was just enough to snatch fourth place on the final matchday.

Not only that, but the Lombardy club also reached their first Coppa Italia semi-final, narrowly losing 3-2 on aggregate to eventual winners Inter Milan after a late second-leg collapse at San Siro.

Serie A's biggest spenders since they returned to the top flight two years ago, Como are starting to see serious results, as 44 points accrued in 2026 is a tally only bettered by Scudetto holders Inter.

While key creator Nico Paz - who has since been signed semi-permanently from Real Madrid - and top scorer Tasos Douvikas claimed most of the headlines, they also kept a league-high 19 clean sheets in 2025-26.

Eagerly awaiting their first European adventure, Como are backed by super-rich owners and have big ambitions under Fabregas, so they will expect to make a fast start on Saturday.

Udinese form (all competitions):

Como pre-season form:

Team News

Udinese have kept a fairly settled squad, but rising star Atta and key defender Kristensen have left, while Jordan Zemura, Martin Payero and Iker Bravo took the familiar path to sister club Watford.

New boys Unai Gomez and Mergim Vojvoda - the latter of whom signed from Como - may feature on Saturday evening.

However, Giorgi Chakvetadze - who took the reverse route to Zemura - is currently injured and Alessandro Zanoli has yet to recover from his ACL rupture; Christian Kabasele must serve a suspension.

Against Padova, Nicolo Zaniolo supported last term's 10-goal top scorer Davis, and they should be paired again this weekend.

Meanwhile, Douvikas racked up 14 goals in Serie A last season - only Capocannoniere Lautaro Martinez managed more - and the Greek striker is set to lead Como's attack.

After breaking into the lineup midway through the 2025-26 campaign, Martin Baturina has become an influential player, and he scored in the recent friendly against Arsenal; with 18 top-flight goal involvements last term, Paz is the visitors' star man.

Summer signings Trevoh Chalobah, Kaiki and Yan Couto could all get some minutes in Udine: only Jayden Addai (ACL) is unavailable due to injury, so Fabregas has plenty of options to choose from.

Udinese possible starting lineup:

Okoye; Bertola, Palma, Solet; Vojvoda, Ekkelenkamp, Karlstrom, Piotrowski, Kamara; Zaniolo, Davis

Como possible starting lineup:

Butez; Couto, Chalobah, Ramon, Valle; Perrone, Da Cunha; Diao, Paz, Baturina; Douvikas

We say: Udinese 1-1 Como

Udinese can be stubborn opponents and have an established pattern of play under Runjaic, so they can claim a point against ambitious Como on Serie A's opening matchday.

Now established as one of Italy's top teams, Fabregas and co will face different challenges this season, which may lead to some frustration.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.