In Udine on Friday night, Udinese will play Chelsea, who are rounding off their preparations for the 2022-23 Premier League in Udine. Last year, Udinese had a successful campaign, placing 12th in Serie A, the team’s joint-best position in Italy’s top level since 2013....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
They have Coppa Italia matches on August 5 against Sudtirol or FeralpiSalo, and on August 13 they travel to face defending Serie A winners AC Milan.
This summer, Udinese participated in four friendlies, winning one of them 2-1 over Pafos on July 25. This came following a 2-1 loss to Bayer Leverkusen, a dominant force in the Bundesliga.
At the summer market, Andrea Sottil’s team bought Beto, Destiny Udogie, Jaka Bijol, Leonardo Buta, Festy Ebosele, Sandi Lovric, and Adam Masina.
Udinese’s recent friendly game against Pafos included Simone Pafundi, who turned 16 in March; nevertheless, head coach Sottil is likely to field a more experienced starting lineup this time.
Before the 2022–23 season, a number of players left the team, with Mamadou Coulibaly joining Serie A team Salernitana being the most noteworthy.
Arsenal defeated Chelsea 4-0 in their final preseason match on July 23, and Chelsea will enter this game on the heels of that defeat.
Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly were added to the Blues’ squad this summer, but it looks like they missed out on Jules Kounde, who joined Barcelona. The capital giants will therefore need to look elsewhere to expand their center-back roster.
Young Republic of Ireland player James Abankwah may have another chance to shine, and Roberto Pereyra needs to start in midfield once more.
Sottil will use every player on the squad in the team’s final summer friendly, with Isaac Success and Beto possibly obtaining spots in the final third of the field.
Udinese strongest starting XI
Padelli; Abankwah, Benkovic, Guessand; Ebosele, Pereyra, Jajalo, Bijol, Masina; Success, Beto
