Udinese is playing the first bonus, but against Salernitana it will not be a downhill game

UDINE. On the way to “quota 50”, the platonic goal that Udinese has set itself to close its season, there will be the Cinderella from Serie A twice, but imagining a cheerful grand ball with 6 points as a gift would be something wrong, also because Davide Nicola – new Walt Disney returning from the coup at Sampdoria – still hopes to transform the Salernitana pumpkin into a carriage capable of surprising everyone, overtaking at least three at the bottom of the ranking and saving himself unexpectedly, as he did five years ago in Crotone.

And the match on Wednesday 20 April, at the Friuli stadium, is essential for those who believe in such a fairy tale.

The scenery

The void to be filled to touch salvation is 9 points, the gap from Cagliari, but the Campania grenades have two bonuses to play on the championship table, like Udinese.

Two recoveries inherited from the Covid emergency at the turn of December and January, tonight’s game and, in the case of Salernitana, with Venice, even if the lagoonaries have resorted to the Coni Guarantee College not to play the game, asking for the 3-0 at the table and for this reason, awaiting a pronouncement, they do not want to play the recovery already scheduled for next week, on April 27, when Cioffi’s team will also close the circle with the trip to Florence that was missed last week January 6.

In short, the moment is delicate for the Cinderella between recoveries, appeals, direct clashes (also of the others, on Sunday there is Genoa-Cagliari) and absences. Because today in Udine Nicola will not be able to field the center forward Djuric, disqualified like Mazzocchi, while he recovered the bruised Sepe, the starting goalkeeper, at the last moment.

The choices

Cioffi is also not very well when absences, even if the three wins in a row in the framework of two months of 15 points (with only one defeat and three draws in eight days) say that Udinese is capable of offering certainties with a squad enlarged.

The “Tucu” Pereyra will be missing, for example, given that the muscular fatigue accused against Empoli turned out to be more complicated than expected, but Tolgay Arslan has already replaced him in Venice where the three points arrived, albeit in the sprint.

Beto will still be missing who in the last exit was replaced by the Success-Pussetto relay that could go on stage tonight with the reversed gearbox (the Argentine holder, the Nigerian in the second half) and there will also be Nahuel Molina who is one of the added values of this second round, but Brandon Soppy has already shown personality and “leg”.

The wildcard instead will be Lazar Samardzic, the German who returned to scoring with Empoli: he can play as an added attacker or as an inside midfield, where Cioffi has few alternatives other than Mato Jajalo.