Udinese vs Lazio Preview: Can Gattuso's Perfect Start Survive Friuli?
Six clubs still have a perfect record after two rounds of the 2026/27 Serie A season, and Lazio are one of them — with two 1-0 wins and not a single goal conceded. Standing in their way on Monday night is a Udinese side that has not lost to Lazio in five meetings and has taken four points from a demanding opening pair. It is the kind of fixture that tells you far more about both projects than the table currently does.
Two Ways of Winning
Lazio's start under Gennaro Gattuso has been ruthlessly efficient rather than pretty. They opened with a 1-0 win away at Bologna, where new signing Davide Frattesi came off the bench to settle it and Christos Mandas was outstanding between the posts. They then repeated the scoreline at the Stadio Olimpico against Genoa on 30 August, Frattesi again supplying the goal, this time from the start. Two matches, two wins, two goals scored, none conceded — and an expected-goals record of roughly 2.1 created against 2.1 faced, which says the clean sheets have been earned rather than simply fortunate.
Udinese, in Kosta Runjaić's third season at the club, have gone about it differently. They drew 1-1 with Como in their opener, then won an open game 3-2 away at Monza on 29 August. Four goals scored, three conceded, and a place in the top seven despite a tougher pair of fixtures on paper. Their Coppa Italia progress has been smoother too: the Friulians beat Venezia 2-1 in the round of 32 on 2 September, a week after Lazio were knocked out of the same competition at home by Mantova.
Head-to-Head: Udinese Have Not Lost This One in Five
| Date | Result | Competition / Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Apr 2026 | Lazio 3-3 Udinese | Serie A · Stadio Olimpico |
| 27 Dec 2025 | Udinese 1-1 Lazio | Serie A · Stadio Friuli |
| 10 Mar 2025 | Lazio 1-1 Udinese | Serie A · Stadio Olimpico |
| 24 Aug 2024 | Udinese 2-1 Lazio | Serie A · Stadio Friuli |
| 11 Mar 2024 | Lazio 1-2 Udinese | Serie A · Stadio Olimpico |
Two Udinese wins and three draws from the last five, with Lazio beaten in each of the last two seasons. Zoom out and the historical picture is very different: the clubs have met 106 times in all competitions, with Lazio holding 48 wins to Udinese's 29. In Serie A alone it is 94 meetings, 41 Lazio wins, 27 Udinese wins and 26 draws. Recent evidence and long-run evidence point in opposite directions — which is exactly what makes Monday interesting.
Four Things to Watch in Udine
1. Lazio's midfield is running out of bodies
This is the story of the match. Nicolò Rovella limped off against Genoa with a calf problem and is rated doubtful; Danilo Cataldi and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru are already out; Adam Marušić went off early at Bologna with a thigh problem and Luca Pellegrini is sidelined too. Alessio Furlanetto is a long-term absentee and Patric is carrying a muscle strain. Gattuso's high press depends on midfielders who can sustain it for ninety minutes, and the depth simply is not there right now.
2. Frattesi has been the difference twice already
Brought in on loan from Inter late in the window after a direct call from Gattuso, the midfielder has scored the winning goal in both league matches. Gattuso admitted he kept him on the bench in Bologna because he had completed only six or seven training sessions. A fortnight on, he is the man Udinese have to stop arriving late in the box — and with Rovella and Cataldi out, he also carries more of the build-up than planned.
3. Udinese at home is a low-scoring place
No more than two goals were scored in eight of Udinese's last ten Serie A home matches, and their opponents managed at most one goal in nine of those ten. Lazio's away numbers read almost identically: eight of their last ten league trips have produced two goals or fewer, and nine of ten finished with no more than nine shots on target. Everything about this fixture points to a tight, low-scoring evening.
4. Set pieces become the release valve
Without Alessandro Zanoli's overlaps and with Nicolò Zaniolo sidelined by a hamstring problem, Udinese lack a natural way to stretch a back four. That pushes them towards second balls, wide free-kicks and corners, an area where their aerial strength is a real weapon. Lazio, meanwhile, have been one of the league's more vulnerable sides defending wide areas over the past two seasons.
Predicted Lineups
Udinese
- Okoye
- Abankwah, Kabasele, Solet
- Vojvoda, Karlström, Piotrowski, Kamara
- Unai Gómez, Ekkelenkamp
- Davis
Zaniolo (hamstring), Matteo Palma (muscle) and Alessandro Zanoli (knee, expected back around October) are all out, with Giorgi Chakvetadze still working back to full fitness. Runjaić has no fresh suspension issues.
Lazio
- Mandas
- Floriani, Doekhi, Provstgaard, Tavares
- Frattesi, Belahyane, Taylor
- Cancellieri, Dia, Zaccagni
Rovella, Cataldi, Dele-Bashiru, Furlanetto, Marušić, Pellegrini and Patric are all unavailable. Alessio Romagnoli is a doubt with a tendon problem, which would leave the centre-back pairing unchanged.
Key Battle: Karlström Against Frattesi
Gattuso's Lazio press the goalkeeper's distribution and push their midfield line high to force long balls. That means the first pressure point is Maduka Okoye's passing lane into Jesper Karlström, Udinese's captain and the man who sets their tempo. If Karlström can receive on the half-turn and break the first line, Udinese get to run at a back four missing Marušić's recovery pace. If he cannot, Udinese go long and hand possession straight back to a side that has conceded nothing all season.
On the other side of the ball, Frattesi's timing is the single clearest route to a goal for either team. He has scored with his first two real chances in a Lazio shirt, and Kenneth Taylor's work rate beside him is what allows those late runs to happen. With a depleted bench, Gattuso may have to manage his midfield minutes carefully — the last twenty minutes could belong to whichever side still has legs in the middle of the park.
What to Wear on Monday
Serie A's third matchday in Friuli is a late kick-off under the lights: sky blue in most of the ground, a travelling pocket of white and celestial blue behind the goal. Here are the shirts that fit the occasion, whichever end you are backing.
Lazio
Swipe to browse 7 Lazio shirts and shorts
Udinese
Swipe to browse 2 Udinese shirts
