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

Continuing their fight for a top-four finish, Serie A giants Juventus will visit Udinese on Saturday evening.

Another battle of the Bianconeri will kick off with Juve just outside the Champions League places, while their hosts are sitting safely in mid-table.

Match preview

After taking two points from four league matches - plus crashing out of Europe and the Coppa Italia - Juventus started slowly in last week's home game against relegation-threatened Pisa.

Having previously required two late goals to draw with fellow top-four contenders Roma, the Turin club failed to break through before half time but eventually turned on the style.

Second-half strikes from Andrea Cambiaso, Khephren Thuram, Kenan Yildiz and Jeremie Boga saw them stroll to victory at the Allianz Stadium, but they still occupy sixth place in Serie A.

The race for Italy's fourth Champions League spot could go down to the wire, as fifth-placed Como won in Cagliari while Roma slipped up in Genoa - and they must play each other on Sunday.

So, for one day at least, Juve can climb above both of their rivals by winning in Udine; however, Luciano Spalletti's side have conceded at least three goals in each of their last four away fixtures.

More positively, since Spalletti - who managed Udinese for 117 Serie A matches across two different spells - took the reins from Igor Tudor at the end of October, only Inter Milan have scored more goals than Juventus.

While both teams wear black and white, Udinese are very much the junior partner in their relationship with Juventus, having won one and lost 10 of the last 15 league meetings on home turf.

In fact, after this season's defeat in Turin, the Friuli club have lost seven of the last eight overall while only scoring two goals - and Juve also knocked them out of the cup a few weeks later.

Kosta Runjaic and co will come into Saturday's contest having bounced back from a worrying dip towards the end of February, when they suffered three straight defeats in Serie A.

First, they put three goals past Fiorentina without reply, before looking on track to repeat that result last weekend.

However, the Fruilani then let a two-goal lead slip against Atalanta, conceding twice inside the final 15 minutes and ultimately settling for a draw.

Still vying for a top-half finish, Udinese remain safe and sound in mid-table, with Runjaic steering them well clear of danger for the second year running.

Udinese Serie A form:

W L L L W D

Juventus Serie A form:

W D L L D W

Juventus form (all competitions):

L L L W D W

Team News

Only Emil Holm and Arkadiusz Milik are unavailable for Juventus, as Dusan Vlahovic is back in full training after more than three months spent on the sidelines.

The Serbian's last Serie A goal was in October's reverse fixture - his fourth career strike against Udinese - and his return will threaten Jonathan David's place up front, with Lois Openda slipping further down the pecking order.

Meanwhile, Juve's main man Yildiz has now scored nine goals in the current league campaign, so he could become the first foreign player in club history to reach double figures as an Under-21.

After topping up his tally against Fiorentina and Atalanta, Udinese striker Keinan Davis is also on nine top-flight strikes for the season.

Set to partner Nicolo Zaniolo again, he could become only the fourth English player to hit double figures in a single Serie A season, after Tammy Abraham (17 in 2021-22), David Platt (11 in 1991-92) and Gerry Hitchens (16 in 1961-62 and 12 one year later).

Nicolo Bertola, Jordan Zemura and long-term absentee Alessandro Zanoli are all ruled out, but key men Oumar Solet and Arthur Atta can now return to the hosts' starting XI.

Udinese possible starting lineup:

Okoye; Kristensen, Kabasele, Solet; Ehizibue, Ekkelenkamp, Karlstrom, Atta, Kamara; Zaniolo, Davis

Juventus possible starting lineup:

Perin; Kalulu, Bremer, Kelly, Cambiaso; Thuram, Locatelli; Conceicao, McKennie, Yildiz; David