Massimo Oddo doubts Juventus will be tired after their Wembley heroics, but Udinese must get back on track after a “surreal” week.
It kicks off on Sunday at 14.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
At this time a week ago, the Friulani were meant to play against Fiorentina at the Dacia Arena, but the game was called off when Viola captain Davide Astori was discovered dead in his hotel room a few hours before the match.
Massimo Oddo doubts Juventus will be tired after their Wembley heroics, but Udinese must get back on track after a “surreal” week.
It kicks off on Sunday at 14.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
At this time a week ago, the Friulani were meant to play against Fiorentina at the Dacia Arena, but the game was called off when Viola captain Davide Astori was discovered dead in his hotel room a few hours before the match.
“It has been a surreal time after what happened to Davide,” confessed Oddo in a Press conference.
“We cannot cancel out the pain in a moment. We felt it right to train behind closed doors, to respect the silence for our colleague.”
Juventus were the first Italian side to play after the tragedy and fought back to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday.
“I don’t think that trip tired them out too much, as Max Allegri has a vast squad with so much quality and strength in depth. If anything, they’ll be even more fired up and convinced of their capabilities.
“I expect my team to be bold and cause Juve problems. We need a game of substance, courage and fight. We must give far more than Juventus if we want to reach our objective.
“We are highly-motivated, first of all by the idea of achieving something where all the other teams have failed. We can’t assume we are beaten before we even begin, but start knowing we need an extraordinary performance.
“We know what Juve’s strengths are, but must limit them and try to play as a team.”
Jens Stryger-Larsen sits out a ban in defence, joined by injured Danilo and Kevin Lasagna, so options are limited.
“I choose the forwards based on the opposition and what we need to unlock them. Jakub Jankto is a midfielder, but he is also suited to a more advanced role. Lasagna will probably be available again after the break for international duty. Valon Behrami is ready to play and has been training since the start of the week.”
Udinese squad for Juventus: Bizzarri, Borsellini, Scuffet; Ali Adnan, Angella, Nuytinck, Pezzella, Samir, Widmer, Zampano; Balic, Barak, Behrami, De Paul, Fofana, Hallfredsson, Ingelsson, Jankto, Pontisso; Maxi Lopez, Perica