Roma – Udinese

Will Udinese take points from a tired Roma?

Victories in the last two rounds allowed Roma to climb to third place in the table. In the last meeting of the league season, José Mourinho's side beat Torino narrowly. Paulo Dibala's spot kick on 8 minutes decided the outcome of the game. Prior to that, the team had beaten Sampdoria 3-0. Not without controversy: the Romans managed to net all three goals following a suspension. Thus, the Wolves are five points behind Lazio, with Milan and Inter trailing. And that would look like a good start to their fight for the top-four, if it weren't for one "but". On Thursday, Roma got off to a poor start in a two-match clash with Feyenoord. The Romans suffered a narrow defeat on the road and now they will have to win the return leg. It will take place four days after the match against Udinese. Injuries to Paulo Dibala and Tammy Abraham in the Netherlands seriously complicate the situation of the Gilarossi for the coming games. Seu Jose complained after the match about limited options in the line-up rotation. But it seems the Portuguese specialist has no option but to give the players a rest in the game in question. After the return leg in the Europa League, the Giallorossi face Atalanta and Milan. "It is the match against the Friuli that could be the window for rotations. Udinese are in danger of suffering their second successive defeat. Last season, they could draw with Monza Udinese only thanks to a 90+2 minute penalty. It was, however, a legitimate outcome in a fair game. The instability of Andrea Sottile's side remains a mystery. "The Bianconeri only recently beat Milan 3-1 and then cruelly lost 3-0 to Bologna in the next round. It's worth noting that the team have been very successful against top-flight opponents. Thus, this season there have already been victories over Inter and Fiorentina and draws with Lazio and Atalanta. Furthermore, in the first leg, Udinese thrashed Roma 4-0. Well, we can't expect a repeat of that result now. However, the wolves are coming into the game with staffing problems and thinking about the much more important return leg against Feyenoord. Udinese could well take advantage of this state of affairs.