Still winless in Serie A since August, Udinese host title-chasing Roma at the Bluenergy Stadium on Saturday, with the visitors looking to close the gap on joint leaders Inter Milan and Lazio.

Under-fire Kosta Runjaic avoided a seventh consecutive defeat in the goalless draw at Parma, but his goal-shy team now face the third-placed side in this weekend's 10th round.

Match preview

Maduka Okoye was the hero for Udinese as Le Zebrette extended their winless top-flight run to seven matches.

The Nigerian saved a second-half penalty against goal-shy Parma to keep the score level after Keinan Davis had seen a goal-bound effort cleared off the line.

The Bianconeri could have won the game at the death when Davis's cross found Unai Gomez, only for Giovanni Daffara to save the subsequent close-range header.

The midweek results leave Udinese 17th in the Serie A table and outside the bottom three on goal difference, with Fiorentina and Parma level on five points and bottom-placed Venezia only three behind.

It leaves Runjaic's position far from secure, particularly if the Little Zebras cannot find the net consistently; the Bianconeri have failed to score in three consecutive matches, losing 3-0 to Lecce, suffering a 2-0 defeat to AC Milan and drawing 0-0 with Parma, while they have netted only once in their last four top-flight games after scoring five times across the opening three.

Roma have no such problems, and Gian Piero Gasperini's men enter Saturday fresh from scoring four against Cagliari at the Olimpico, just days after a thrilling 3-3 draw with Napoli at the Maradona.

If anything, Gasperini will be displeased by his team's recent tendency to concede a surfeit of goals, given that they have let in five across their last 180 minutes of league action.

The Giallorossi survived a scare in their midweek 4-2 victory over Cagliari, falling behind to an M'Bala Nzola penalty after 10 minutes before being pegged back to 2-2 with 10 minutes remaining.

Rodrigo Mora and Capocannoniere contender Donyell Malen struck late to prevent the capital club from dropping points for the fourth time in five league matches, keeping Gasperini's men four points behind Inter and Lazio.

That victory could prove pivotal ahead of this weekend, given that Inter may drop points against Milan in the derby, an outcome that would please supporters in the red half of the Eternal City.

Plenty of twists and turns are still guaranteed before next year's denouement, but Roma will undoubtedly welcome a visit to an out-of-form Udinese side as they seek to close the gap at the top of the table.

Udinese Serie A form:

Roma Serie A form:

Roma form (all competitions):

Team News

Alessandro Zanoli and Oumar Solet are touch-and-go due to muscle complaints, as is Nicolo Bertola after he was withdrawn following the hour mark against Parma, while David Alaba (calf), Vakoun Bayo (thigh) and Idrissa Guey (ankle) are definitely unavailable.

Davis went close to ending his drought during the week, giving the forward hope that his first league goal and first strike since mid-August may be near.

The forward should receive support from Nicolo Zaniolo and Jurgen Ekkelenkamp, with the former yet to score or assist this term and the Dutchman having netted twice.

Malen leads Roma's scoring charts with seven goals in eight appearances, leaving him one behind surprise Capocannoniere leaders Gustavo Varela and Antonio Raimondo before this weekend.

Although the Dutchman is comfortably the Giallorossi's leading threat, the capital club can also rely on Matias Soule and Niccolo Pisilli to deliver decisive strikes, with both players having scored three times already, while Paulo Dybala remains a match-winning talent with four assists.

The 2022 World Cup winner, however, is unavailable this weekend due to a calf injury, joining Lorenzo Pellegrini (thigh), Manu Kone (muscle), Mile Svilar (toe) and Muhammed Bah (knee) on the sidelines.

Udinese possible starting lineup:

Okoye; Abankwah, Kabasele, Palma; Vojvoda, Karlstrom, Miller, Kamara; Zaniolo, Ekkelenkamp; Davis

Roma possible starting lineup:

Gollini; Mancini, Balerdi, Hermoso; Molina, De Roon, Cristante, Wesley; Soule, Mora; Malen

We say: Udinese 1-3 Roma

Roma's recent defensive openness offers some hope to an Udinese side searching for their first goal in four league matches, particularly if Davis builds on his encouraging midweek performance.

However, Le Zebrette's fragility and the visitors' range of match-winners point towards Gasperini's men claiming another high-scoring victory.

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