Maduka Okoye’s Udinese vs Roma: Preview, team news, predictions & H2H

Maduka Okoye and a struggling Udinese side face AS Roma tomorrow, and the Super Eagles goalkeeper is likely to be the busiest man on the pitch.

Okoye has made 39 saves already this season, the product of a defence that has conceded 18 goals in nine league matches. His side sit 17th in Serie A, with five points from nine games and only a single win all season.

Roma arrive at the Bluenergy Stadium in Udine in the opposite shape entirely, unbeaten in the league and sitting third, and kickoff is set for 18:00 CET on October 31, 2026, in Matchday 10 of Serie A.

Okoye moved to Udinese from Watford in August 2023, having come through Sparta Rotterdam in the Netherlands before that spell in England, and has established himself as the club’s undisputed No.1 since.

Match Radar: Udinese vs Roma

Udinese vs Roma: Form and Context

Roma have not lost a league match all season, winning six and drawing three of their nine fixtures to sit third, level on goal difference with leaders Inter and Lazio but four points back.

Only Inter have scored more in Serie A this season than Roma’s 23 goals, and only Lazio have conceded fewer than Roma’s eight.

Away from the Stadio Olimpico, Roma’s form has been even stronger: two wins and two draws from their last four trips.

Donyell Malen leads Roma’s scoring chart with seven goals in eight league appearances, with Matías Soulé also among the scorers this season.

Udinese went six matches without a win before salvaging a goalless draw away at fellow strugglers Parma on October 28, the match immediately before this one, a run that put Kosta Runjaić’s position under scrutiny.

Jurgen Ekkelenkamp has been the one attacking positive, leading Udinese’s charts with three goals and one assist from nine league appearances despite the team’s collapse around him, and Nicolò Zaniolo returns to contention after featuring again at Parma.

Head-to-Head: Udinese vs Roma

Roma have won four of the last five league meetings between the clubs, with Udinese’s only win in that run coming 1-0 at home back in February 2026.

Zooming out across the last 32 fixtures, Roma have won 24 to Udinese’s six, with two draws between them.

This exact fixture also carries history beyond results. Roma defender Evan N’Dicka collapsed on the same pitch in April 2024, with the match suspended and completed 10 days later.

He was cleared of any cardiac issue and has long since returned to full training, and he is expected to line up for Roma again at the ground where the scare happened.

Team News & Predicted XI: Udinese vs Roma

Udinese go into the match with a threadbare group in defence. David Alaba, Oumar Solet and Alessandro Zanoli are all missing through injury, alongside long-term absentees Vakoun Issouf Bayo and Idrissa Gueye.

Roma’s list features Mile Svilar, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Manu Koné, while Paulo Dybala remains a doubt after a calf problem that has kept him out since October 14.

Star Player Comparison: Jurgen Ekkelenkamp vs Donyell Malen

The Managers: Kosta Runjaic vs Gian Piero Gasperini

Kosta Runjaić has been at Udinese since June 2024, extending his contract to June 2027 after a 12th-place finish last season; a credibility buffer this season’s results have eroded.

Gian Piero Gasperini arrived at Roma in the summer of 2025 after nine seasons at Atalanta that included the 2023-24 Europa League title, replacing Claudio Ranieri, who moved into an advisory role at the club.

Tactical Preview: Udinese vs Roma

Both sides are expected to line up in a 3-4-2-1 shape. Gasperini’s back three looks to press high and attack in numbers, with wing-backs Nahuel Molina and Wesley pushing on to support Malen and Soulé.

That approach could stretch an Udinese back line already missing three regular defenders.

Udinese, in turn, will look to use Zaniolo and Ekkelenkamp off the flanks to get in behind Roma’s wing-backs on the counter, the one route that has worked for them in recent weeks even as results have not gone their way.

Okoye’s ability to deal with Roma’s quick transitions, more than any system battle, is likely to decide how heavy the final margin is.

The Naija Slip: Udinese vs Roma tips

Score Prediction: Udinese vs Roma