Inter back against Udinese after derby defeat.

Udinese Calcio vs. Inter Milan kicks off at 14:00 [GMT+1] on Saturday, September 28, at the Bluenergy Stadium.

Udinese have enjoyed quite an impressive start to their season under new manager Kosta Runjaić. The German manager has steered the Bianconeri to five victories in seven competitive games this season, with the latest being a midweek 3-1 victory against Salernitana in the Coppa Italia. Going into Wednesday’s clash as favourites, Udinese barely broke a sweat as they saw off Salernitana to advance into the next round of the competition. The win was made possible by goals from Jaka Bijol [20’], Lorenzo Lucca [P.44’], and Jurgen Ekkelenkamp [47’]. 'We needed to win, and the lads were motivated to do so and get through to the next round,' Runjaić said after the game. 'It’s another step forward for us,’ he added, with the stakes going up steeply this weekend as his team changes gears from favourites to underdogs in a daunting league encounter against defending champions Inter Milan. Currently, Udinese [DWWWL] are third on the Seria A table, following a humbling 3-0 defeat to Roma last weekend, one that ended their nine-match unbeaten run [5W, 4D, 1L] in the league. They will now look to bounce back from matchday 5’s setback when they welcome Inter to the Bluenergy this weekend. Buoyed by an impressive home record, with wins in each of their last three home league games, Udinese will fancy their chances of securing victory this weekend against an Inter side that has struggled on the road this season. However, the hosts have won just one of their last eleven Serie A games [1W, 2D, 8L] on home soil against visitors. Lucca is expected to start in attack when Runjaić deploys the 4—2—3—1.

Meanwhile, defending champions Inter Milan are a shadow of their former selves, having picked up just eight points from a possible 15. The latest episode of what has been an underwhelming campaign was a disappointing 2-1 defeat to local rivals AC Milan in the Milan derby last Sunday. A late header from Matteo Gabbia [89’] delivered a crushing blow to the Nerazzurri, who had fought back from an early deficit to equalise through Federico Dimarco [27’] in the first half. 'Defeats always burn, especially in the derby,' Simone Inzaghi said. Currently sixth on the league table, the defending champions [DWWDL] will now shift focus to this weekend’s trip to Udinese, hoping to bounce back with a win. Inter have won six of their last seven league games against the hosts [6W, 0D, 1L]. However, Inzaghi’s men are yet to win any away games this season [0W, 3D, 0L]. A 3—5—2 with Lautaro Martínez and Marcus Thuram in attack is expected.