Udinese vs Cagliari preview - Guidolin demands Udinese response

Posted Sunday, December 02, 2012 by PA

It was supposed to be one of the biggest weeks of the season for Udinese, but instead it will be seven days tinged with disappointment and regret.

Udinese host Liverpool in the Europa League on Thursday night, but what was planned to be one of the biggest nights at the Stadio Friuli in recent years is unlikely to attract more than a few thousand fans.

Defeats to Young Boys and Anzi mean Udinese are eliminated from Europe already while a 3-0 defeat to Lazio has left them in the bottom half of the Serie A table.

Sunday's game against Cagliari is therefore about restoring some lost pride and coming to terms with a new reality, one which does not foresee European football in 2013.

"If we carry on playing like this, then we are not going to go very far," lamented coach Francesco Guidolin after the defeat to Lazio on Monday. "We need to bounce back immediately.

"This cannot be the real Udinese. This team can give a great deal more.

"We know where we can go, but inevitably we are going to have to reassess our objectives. We need to get back on the right track immediately."

To make matters worse for Udinese, they have lost defender Maurizio Domizzi to a thigh injury and he may not play again in 2012.

Cagliari's form is equally disappointing, though, and they arrive in the north east without a win in their last four matches, leaving them on 16 points like their hosts.

The disappointment was even greater for them last weekend when they marked their first game inside a full Is Arenas stadium with a 1-0 defeat to Napoli.

There is good news on the injury front, though, with Andrea Cossu and Nene both in line for a return.