Udinese vs Cagliari preview - Focus is on Cagliari visit - Handanovic



I have a say

Posted Sunday, February 19, 2012 by PA

Udinese goalkeeper Samir Handanovic insists his team will not be distracted by next week's game at PAOK Salonica when they host Cagliari.

The Bianconeri are looking to bounce back from a disappointing week.

Udinese lost their unbeaten home record in Serie A in a 2-1 loss to AC Milan on Saturday before being held five days later to a goalless result by PAOK in the Europa League last-32 first leg.

Udinese travel to Greece next Thursday with all to play for.

"We are taking it one game at a time," Handanovic said. "We are not thinking about the game at PAOK just yet.

"Of course, it would have been better to travel to Greece with an advantage but we will nevertheless try to progress to the next stage of the competition.

"However, our focus right now is on Cagliari.

"We have conceded more goals than usual in recent weeks and we need to try to recover our defensive strength."

Udinese lost midfielder Mauricio Isla and striker Antonio Di Natale to injuries in last weekend's game.

Isla underwent knee surgery this week and will be sidelined for the rest of the season while Di Natale, who is Serie A's top scorer with 17 goals so far, is out for three weeks with a fractured bone in his foot.

Udinese have lost their last two league games and lie fourth in the standings, one point below Lazio.

Cagliari have taken seven points of a possible nine in their last three games.

Last weekend's 2-1 triumph over Palermo lifted the Sardinian outfit to ninth place.

However, Cagliari have not won on the road since a 1-0 triumph at Catania on December 4.

"We face a difficult game at Udinese," coach Davide Ballardini said. "I'm nevertheless confident that if my players can play with the same focus as they did against Palermo, we can get a good result in Udine."



Attention: Third parties may advertise their products and/or services on our website.7M does not warrant the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of their contents.
Your dealings with such third parties are solely between you and such third parties and we shall not be liable in any way for any loss or damage of any sort incurred by you.

For more data and AI predictions, download for free

7M's App

Scan the QR code
Download App