Udinese vs Juventus: 3 key Udinese players to watch out for

Following almost a three-month break, Serie A returns this weekend with Scudetto aspirants Juventus making their journey north-east to take on Udinese on Sunday. Massimiliano Allegri completed the first part of his renewed stint, overseeing Juve’s pre-season, where the 3-0 defeat to Barcelona came as the only bump on the road for the Bianconeri.

The visit to Stadio Friuli should include almost a fully-fit Juventus side. The only missing member of the squad is likely to be Arthur Melo, who recently underwent surgery on his right leg and will be out of action for the next three months. Apart from his absence, everything else should be fine.

As for Udinese, after they sold last season’s talisman, Rodrigo De Paul, to Atletico Madrid for an initial transfer fee of €35 million, their overall strength has dropped to some extent, especially in the midfield area.

However, they’re no longer the Serie A strugglers they once were. Reliant on the three-man defence, they no longer embody mediocrity. In fact, their coach Luca Gotti has a better head-to-head record against Allegri. Both encountered each other once in a competitive game (as per the stats from Sofascore),  with Gotti earning the victory.

Considering the record coupled with the fact that this will be the opening game week of the 2021/22 Serie A campaign, anything could happen.

3 key Udinese players to watch out for against Juventus

Here we mention three of the best assets for Udinese who could provoke threats for the visiting side on Sunday evening.

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3. Jean-Victor Makengo

Despite wearing #6 on the back, Udinese’s Jean-Victor Makengo is naturally a “number eight”, a box-to-box midfielder, as also suggested by his scout graph in the FBref.com. Signed from Toulouse last summer, Makengo made 17 appearances in his debut Serie A season, in which he made the starting line-up only five times.

However, now that he has established himself in Italy, that shyness in his gameplay is gone. Almost 6ft in stature, Makengo is all about sheer pace, gliding through the midfield with the ball at his feet, and remaining compact to help the team in defence.

In the absence of De Paul, Makengo, 23, will have to take immense responsibility for Udinese’s midfield. The Étampes-born midfielder was seen playing 77 minutes in the game against Ascoli in the latest round of Coppa Italia. Despite not scoring or assisting, Makengo went on to have a great impact on the game as Udinese ended up winning the match 3-1.

Although Juventus have announced the signing of Manuel Locatelli from Sassuolo, he might not be ready to start the game for Bianconeri on Sunday, implying that it could be the pair of Aaron Ramsey and Rodrigo Bentancur to start the game from the midfield. They will have to be watchful of Makengo’s forward runs, which he regularly makes to somehow get into the opposing 18-yard-box.

If the midfield could keep the young Frenchman under control for the entirety of the game, then the Juventus defence would not have much to worry about the abrupt and direct threat from Makengo.