Preview: Spezia vs. Udinese - prediction, team news, lineups

Udinese will look to build on a promising start to the season when they travel to Spezia Calcio on Sunday.

I Bianconeri have taken four points from their opening two Serie A games and sit sixth in the table, while their hosts are 15th with one point.

Match preview

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There were suggestions that Udinese might struggle this season, particularly as last year's top scorer Rodrigo De Paul joined Atletico Madrid in the summer and has not truly been replaced in an attack that was already short of goals.

However, Luca Gotti's side drew 2-2 with Juventus on the opening weekend, before easing to a 3-0 win over newly-promoted Venezia a fortnight ago with goals from Ignacio Pussetto, Gerard Deulofeu and Nahuel Molina.

Sunday will be I Bianconeri's first away game of the campaign, and they actually picked up more points on the road last season (21) than they did at home (19) on the way to a second successive 13th-place finish.

Udinese have not finished inside the top half of the Serie A table since 2013, but they will be confident of keeping their unbeaten start of the season going in Liguria before hosting Napoli next weekend.

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Spezia were last season's surprise package in Serie A, finishing 15th in their first ever top-flight campaign and taking points off both Milan clubs, Napoli and Roma.

However, it has been a summer of change at Stadio Alberto Picco, with the squad being overhauled and Thiago Motta replacing Fiorentina-bound Vincenzo Italiano in the dugout.

Therefore there are questions whether Spezia can survive once again, and a 6-1 defeat to Lazio two weeks ago certainly set alarm bells ringing.

It followed a 2-2 draw with Cagliari on the opening weekend, in which Motta's side threw away a two goal lead.

Aquilotti have lost just one of their last nine home matches, but did lose 1-0 to Udinese at Stadio Alberto Picco last season.

Team News

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Spezia will be without defender Kelvin Amian, who is suspended after his red card against Lazio before the international break.

Last season's top scorer M'Bala Nzola has not appeared so far in the new campaign after stating his desire to leave the club, but failed to secure a move away in the transfer window; Motta must now decide whether to bring the striker in from the cold.

Aquilotti made three deadline-day signings and could hand them all debuts, including striker Rey Manaj who is on loan from Barcelona.

Gotti could name an unchanged Udinese side after such a comprehensive win over Venezia a fortnight ago.

Gerard Deulofeu will be pushing for a start after coming off the bench to score in that game, while deadline day arrivals Beto and Brandon Soppy are in contention for their debuts.

Fernando Forestieri has returned to training after missing the opening two Serie A games of the season with a muscle injury.

Spezia possible starting lineup:
Zoet; Hristov, Nikolaou, Erlic; Vignali, Bourabia, Maggiore, Ferrer; Verde, Manaj, Colley

Udinese possible starting lineup:
Silvestri; Becao, Nuytinck, Samir; Molina, Arslan, Walace, Larsen; Pereyra; Pussetto, Deulofeu

We say: Spezia 1-2 Udinese

Udinese will be the more confident of the two sides going into this game, and we expect them to pick up three points, but Spezia's signing of Manaj may give them a much-needed lift. Aquilotti have become known to defy the odds, so a home win is not impossible here.