Juventus will look to bring an end to their winless run when they host Udinese at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday.

Ninth-placed Udinese will look to build on the win in their last outing when they hit the road to the Allianz Arena square up against Juventus, who have been struggling for some time now and have parted ways with their manager.

The home team are eighth on the points table with just 12 points in their eight outings. They have been winless in their last five league outings and have suffered defeats in their last two. They are heading into this fixture on the back of a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Lazio.

Despite dominating possession and creating quite a few chances, the Italian giants failed to find the back of the net. Overall, they have been winless in their last eight outings, and it has led to the sacking of Igor Tudor. Massimo Brambilla has been handed the reins on a temporary basis.

Udinese are ninth on the table with 12 points in their eight outings. The visitors were also on a four-match winless run in the league, but they returned to winning ways with an impressive 3-2 win over Lecce. They will now be hoping to cause an upset against the Old Lady.

While they did get the job done against Lecce, they will have to put up a much better defensive performance to stand a chance against Juventus. Despite their recent struggles, the Italian giants still have enough quality in their ranks to claim all three points here. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could deploy.

Team News & Tactics

Juventus

The home team remain without the services of Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal. Apart from the duo, everyone else should be available for selection for Juventus when they host Udinese this midweek.

Despite Igor Tudor’s departure, Juventus are expected to line up in a 3-4-2-1 formation, where Michele Di Gregorio will continue in goal. In the heart of the defence, Pierre Kalulu will start alongside Federico Gatti and Lloyd Kelly.

Francisco Conceicao and Andrea Cambiaso will feature as the wing-backs, while Manuel Locatelli will partner with Khephren Thuram in a more central role. The midfield duo will look to ensure they dominate the ball and control the tempo. Teun Koopmeiners and Kenan Yildiz should be the two attacking midfielders behind Dusan Vlahovic.

Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Gatti, Kelly; Conceicao, Locatelli, Thuram, Cambiaso; Koopmeiners, Yildiz; Vlahovic

Udinese

The visitors will be without the services of Thomas Kristensen, but apart from him, everyone else should be available for selection. Against Juventus, Udinese will line up in a 3-5-2 formation, where Maduka Okoye should continue in goal.

The central defensive partnership will see Nicolo Bertola starting alongside Thomas Kristensen and Oumar Solet. The back three will receive significant support from Kingsley Ehizibue and Jordan Zemura, who will feature as the wing-backs.

Meanwhile, Jakub Piotrowski, Jesper Karlstrom, and Arthur Atta will feature in the centre of the park. The trio will certainly have a lot of defending to do, but they will also look to initiate attacks at every possible opportunity. Finally, Iker Bravo should pair up with Keinan Davis in the strike partnership.

Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Sava; Bertola, Kristensen, Solet; Ehizibue, Piotrowski, Karlstrom, Atta, Zemura; Bravo, Davis

Key Stats

• Juventus have been winless in their last eight games across competitions.
• Udinese have lost 13 out of their last 16 games against the Turin-based club.
• The Old Lady have failed to win any of their last five league outings. After a run of three consecutive draws, they have suffered back-to-back defeats in the Serie A.
• Prior to their win over Lecce, Udinese were also on a four-match winless run.
• The Turin-based outfit have failed to score a goal in any of their last four outings.

Player to Watch

Kenan Yildiz

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Given the kind of form Juventus have been in, they do need someone to step up and deliver a sensational performance, and Yildiz can certainly be that guy. The 20-year-old Turkish gem has already established himself as one of their mainstays, and he certainly has the quality to be the difference between the two teams on Wednesday.

While the Bianconeri have been struggling, Yildiz still has six goal contributions in his 11 outings. He is in fine form and will certainly be eager to help his team return to winning ways when they host Udinese.

Prediction

Juventus 2-2 Udinese

Both teams head into this fixture looking to build some momentum after inconsistent starts to the season. Juventus have struggled badly in recent weeks, failing to win any of their last eight games across all competitions.

The sacking of Igor Tudor has only added to the uncertainty around the club, but with Massimo Brambilla taking temporary charge, the Old Lady will hope for an immediate response in front of their fans. Udinese, on the other hand, will be buoyed by their recent 3-2 win over Lecce, which ended a four-match winless run.

The visitors will look to exploit Juventus’s defensive vulnerabilities and will believe they can take something away from this game. However, their backline has looked shaky at times, and keeping a clean sheet against a desperate Juventus side might prove difficult. The Hard Tackle predicts a hard-fought 2-2 draw.