Udinese and Juventus have faced each other 100 times overall, with tomorrow’s opponents having the clear historic upper hand. Juve have won 68 of these games, while Udinese have claimed 18 victories. However, the last time these two teams met it was the Zebrette who came out on top, beating Juve 1-0 away on 12 February. If Udinese were to win tomorrow it would be the first time since the early 1960s that they have beaten the Old Lady twice in a row.
So far this season Udinese have been playing very well at Bluenergy Stadium, winning four times out of their first five games. Only in 2011/12 did Udinese do better, recording six victories from their first six home fixtures. Lorenzo Lucca is also playing his best football at home: he has already scored three goals in Udine this season, bringing his total to eight in the last two campaigns. Only Dusan Vlahovic (10) has done better than him out of players born in 2000 and later, and Lucca will face him as an opponent this Saturday.
Udinese also come into this matchday with the highest number of headed goals (5) and goals scored from crosses (6, the same as Milan) in Serie A, while they are second for goals from corners (3). This is thanks to the Udinese players’ wonderful accuracy, in particular, Hassane Kamara - only Federico Dimarco, Dodo and Nuno Tavares are ahead of the 30-year-old for the number of successful crosses (12) and the Ivorian international has the best in percentage of successful crosses among those who have attempted at least 25 (29.4%). Udinese have still conceded no headed goals so far, but they have already let in four times from penalty kicks (a record on par with Como), with Juventus close behind (3).
In Venice, Iker Bravo was in the starting 11 once again. The Spaniard has so far scored a goal and provided an assist in 184 minutes this term and will be up against Juventus player Kenan Yildiz – both of them are the two youngest foreigners to have already recorded a goal and an assist in this Serie A season. Maduka Okoye is also making his mark in 2024/25 – he’s second in terms of number of saves in Serie A (33), only behind Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (36). Last season, the match at the Bluenergy Stadium against Juventus marked the Udinese debuts of Lucca, Jordan Zemura, Oier Zarraga, Christian Kabasele and Kamara, while in the return match – won by Udinese at the Allianz Stadium – was overseen by Rosario Abisso, the same referee who will officiate tomorrow's encounter.