Udinese will welcome AS Roma to the Bluenergy Stadium on Saturday in a pivotal Serie A encounter that could shape both teams' seasons. The match carries significant weight for Udinese manager Kosta Runjaic's future and could bolster Roma's Scudetto aspirations, with Gian Piero Gasperini's side sitting four points behind league leaders Lazio and Inter Milan.
A victory for Roma would allow them to close the gap at the top of the table ahead of the Derby della Madonnina between Inter and AC Milan later on Saturday. The fixture also evokes memories of one of Francesco Totti's most iconic goals, scored against Udinese at the Stadio Olimpico on October 2, 2002.
Match Details
Date: Saturday, Oct. 31 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: Bluenergy Stadium, Udine, Italy
TV: CBS
Odds: Udinese +448; Draw +337; AS Roma -198
Totti's Masterpiece
Totti, who spent his entire career with Roma before retiring in 2017, netted 307 goals in 786 appearances and captained the club to the 2000-01 Serie A title, their most recent championship. Speaking to Corriere dello Sport about the 2002 strike, Totti described it as one of his best: "For me, one of the best goals, aside from the ones I scored in Genoa, Inter and the derby, was a goal I scored against Udinese at the Stadio Olimpico. I scored twice that day... Batistuta dinks the ball over the goalkeeper, a little chip. I bring the ball under control with my head, I can't remember whether Bertotto was marking me and, with my back to goal, where De Sanctis was, I hit a volley on the half-bounce into the top corner at the far post."
The match will be broadcast on CBS, with full Serie A coverage available on Paramount+ throughout the season.
