Udinese are the next opponents for AC Milan, who are currently preparing for the trip to Stadio Friuli on Sunday evening. 

The mid-week action in the Europa League didn’t exactly give Milan more confidence, losing  3-0 to Bournemouth. On top of that, some heavy absences have been confirmed for their next game against Udinese, including Adrien Rabiot.

Having said that, it’s not like Udinese have had an easy time lately either, which could make for an interesting game.

Opposition insight on Udinese

➤ Manager: Kosta Runjaic
➤ Form (all comps): L-L-L-L-L (most recent)
➤ Top scorer (Serie A): Ekkelenkamp – 3
➤ Most assists (Serie A): Davis – 2
➤ Injuries & suspensions: Alaba, Bayo, Gueye, Zanoli.

It’s been a rough start to the season for Udinese and that’s putting it mildly. They were a force to be reckoned with in the 2025-26 campaign, finishing in 10th with 50 points (beating Milan too), but they haven’t been able to replicate that so far.

Kosta Runjaic is still the head coach of the team, so nothing has changed on that front, but it’s possible that the management got some of the summer business wrong. The biggest departure was Arthur Atta, who left for Fiorentina in a €25m deal after impressing with six goals and four assists.

Thomas Kristensen was another big departure as he joined Atalanta on loan with an obligation to buy. Arguably one of their best defenders, he was always going to be difficult to replace and Udinese opted for a veteran here, getting David Alaba on a free transfer after his Real Madrid contract expired.

The Austrian veteran is still being eased into things, but there’s no doubt that his experience could be crucial moving forward. Other notable signings included Mergim Vojvoda from Como (a really tidy player), Lazar Jovanovic from Stuttgart and Idrissa Gueye from Metz.

But okay, even if the summer business perhaps left a little to be desired overall, few expected Udinese to start the season like this. They have won just one game so far and even worse, they have lost all of their last five league games (!). That’s shocking form.

They did manage a draw against the hyped Como at the start of the season, but their win came against another struggling side, namely Monza. In short, something clearly isn’t clicking and Udinese have confirmed that Runjaic now has three games to prove his worth. Talk about pressure.

Shifting focus to the squad status, it’s not fantastic for Runjaic as the aforementioned Alaba suffered a muscle injury in the 3-0 defeat to Lecce. He won’t be available, as such, and the same goes for the new midfield signing Gueye, the right-back Alessandro Zanoli, and the forward Bayo.

Two changes are expected in defence, with James Abankwah and Matteo Palma coming in, while Jakub Piotrowski looks set to replace Oier Zarraga in midfield. Other than that, it will be the expected Udinese with key players like Omar Solet, Jesper Karlström, Jurgen Ekkelenkamp and Kenan Davies.

Oumar Solet is in the predicted eleven right now, but Runjaic did warn that he might not make it due to a muscle problem.

Predicted Udinese XI (3-4-2-1): Okoye; Abankwah, Palma, Solet; Vojvoda, Piotrowski, Karlström, Kamara; Chakvetadze, Ekkelenkamp; Davis.

Predicted bench: Padelli, Mrozek, Bertola, Ebosse, Kabasele, Zanoli, Zarraga, Miller, Lovric, Arizala, Jovanovic, Unai, Zaniolo, Vinciati.