Udinese vs Brescia Preview - No let up for Udinese

Posted Sunday, February 20, 2011 by PA

Udinese cannot afford to take their foot off the pedal when they take on Brescia on Sunday.

The Friuli outfit, who are hoping to qualify for next season's Champions League, won 3-0 at Cesena last time out to record their fifth victory in six games.

That result lifted them to fifth in the standings, two points behind Lazio, who occupy the last Champions League qualifying spot.

"We are obviously very happy with our current position on the table," Udinese coach Francesco Guidolin said.

"It's good that our fans are dreaming of the Champions League but we cannot get our hopes up just yet.

"We will take things one step at a time as we have done throughout the season.

"But we have to remain calm and focused."

Whether Udinese qualify for Europe or not, club president Giampaolo Pozzo is expecting Guidolin to remain at the club for a long time.

"If it was down to us we would keep Guidolin here for life," Pozzo said. "Certainly we will not be the ones to push him away.

"We are extremely happy with the work he has done."

Udinese have not lost at home since September 19, the same day that rivals Brescia last won on the road.

Since then, Brescia have mustered two points away from home.

The Rondinelle travel to Udine on the back of a 2-0 loss to Lazio that left them in 18th place, two points adrift of safety.

Brescia coach Giuseppe Iachini has demanded a vast improvement from his players.

"I don't want to see again the first-half performance that we displayed against Lazio," he said. "Against Udinese we cannot wait for our rivals to hit us. We must be aggressive, play without fear and show personality."

The hosts will be without influential winger Alexis Sanchez, who serves a one-match ban.