Sunday 11th March 2012, 7.45pm
This fixture was originally scheduled to be the early kick-off on Sunday, but it was moved to Sunday evening to allow Udinese extra time to recuperate from their Europa League first leg tie in the Netherlands on Thursday, which they lost 2-0 to AZ Alkmaar.
Udinese began the season in the Champions League as a result of their fourth-place finish last term, but they will need to finish one place higher this time around if they want to begin next season in Europe’s elite club competition (only three teams will qualify from Serie A this season). They slipped from third to fourth place last weekend, and with just twelve league games remaining they will need to collect as many points as possible in the race for Europe. No doubt this was coach Francesco Guidolin’s reason for leaving top scorer Antonio Di Natale on the bench until the 79th minute on Thursday – in fact, Guidolin has rested Di Natale for the vast majority of Udinese’s European campaign.
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| Introductions, Di Natale style: "Net, meet my friend, the ball" |
The Bianconeri are not quite the force they were last season, mainly due to the dual departure of Gokhan Inler and Alexis Sanchez, but they still boast a lot of quality in their side. Pablo Armero is always a threat down the left-hand side, and Kwadwo Asamoah is another pacey attacker who can trouble defences and create openings when on form. Di Natale – Serie A’s top scorer for the last two seasons, and currently top of this season’s scoring chart - is a fantastic talent, and he has been complimented well this season by the return to form of fellow striker Antonio Floro Flores. Slovenian goalkeeper Samir Handanović is also a key, and often underrated, part of this Udinese team.
Novara have struggled this season upon their return to the top flight. They slumped to the bottom of the table in midweek (when Cesena picked up a point against Catania), and they have lost their last two games. In fact their only win since November was a 1-0 victory over Inter, who were gifting wins to all comers with incredible generosity at the time. Novara have averaged just one goal every two games over their last twelve matches, and really the only two things they have going for them on Sunday are home advantage and the artificial surface on which they play at the Stadio Silvio Piola. Incidentally, Attilio Tesser will be back in the Novara dugout for this fixture – the coach who brought them back to Serie A was dismissed at the end of January, but he was reinstated during the week following the sacking of his replacement Emiliano Mondonico (who held the post for 36 days - a short tenure even by Italian standards).
Udinese cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win the last time these two met, and their recent slide down to fourth place should provide sufficient motivation for them to target all three points on Sunday. I expect a tight game, but a fresh and rested Di Natale will almost certainly be too much for the Novara defenders to handle.
Prediction – Udinese to win – 6pts
Novara 3/1
Draw 9/4
Udinese evens
