Okoye faces tough test in Udinese vs Como: Preview, h2h, team news, predictions & more

Serie A kicks off the 2026-27 campaign with one of its most intriguing opening-weekend fixtures, as Udinese welcome Como to the Bluenergy Stadium on Saturday for a meeting that pits contrasting trajectories against each other on matchday one.

The visitors arrive in Udine as Champions League debutants, their top-four finish last season under Cesc Fabregas having transformed expectations around a club that was competing in Italy’s third tier just six years ago.

Udinese, meanwhile, have spent the summer quietly rebuilding after a steady but unglamorous 10th-place finish, and Kosta Runjaic will look to prove the Bianconeri can trouble any side at the Bluenergy Stadium regardless of the occasion.

Udinese vs Como Match Preview

Udinese enter this fixture already a competitive match into their season, having beaten second-tier Padova 1-0 in the Coppa Italia last week through a Keinan Davis goal, and that winning habit matters when both sides are searching for early momentum.

That Coppa win came without several familiar faces. Thomas Kristensen and Arthur Atta, both regular contributors last season, have departed the club this summer, while Jordan Zemura, Martin Payero and Iker Bravo have taken the well-worn path to sister club Watford.

In their place, Runjaic has brought in Mergim Vojvoda, ironically signed from Como, and Spanish midfielder Unai Gomez among others.

None of those changes, though, affect the player who has arguably become the most important figure at the Bluenergy Stadium: Maduka Okoye.

The Super Eagles goalkeeper, who made 30 Serie A appearances in 2025-26, kept ten clean sheets and maintained a save percentage of 71.7 per cent, is the last line of defence for a side that has historically conceded far too often to compete for top-six places.

Okoye’s presence between the posts has been central to the improvement in defensive solidity that has allowed Runjaic to build a mid-table platform, and the 26-year-old goes into a third consecutive season as Udinese’s undisputed number one.

Udinese will need that defensive resilience from the first whistle. Como arrive carrying the confidence of an extraordinary 2025-26 season, during which Fabregas guided the club to Champions League qualification in only their second season back in Serie A after a 21-year absence from the top flight.

The Lariani accumulated enough points in the calendar year 2026 to match any team in Italy other than eventual champions Inter Milan, and they kept a league-high 19 clean sheets across the campaign.

The summer has brought significant change to Como, and not all of it on their terms. Trevoh Chalobah has joined the club, Yan Couto arrives as a specialist right-back option, and Brazilian winger Kaiki adds depth to the attack.

Anastasios Douvikas stays on and will be expected to carry far more of the attacking load alongside Martin Baturina, having scored 14 Serie A goals last season to finish joint-second in the scoring charts alongside Donyell Malen, behind only Lautaro Martinez’s 17. Of course, they have their star man Nico Paz.

Como’s preseason has, however, been more subdued. Their five-game preparation brought just one win, and they ended it with two meetings against Liverpool: a goalless draw played over two 35-minute periods was followed by a full 90-minute game that ended in a 2-0 defeat.

Udinese vs Como Head-to-Head

Across 22 Serie A meetings between these clubs, Udinese hold a slight overall advantage: ten wins to Como’s six, with six draws to show for both sides across their top-flight history.

The recent Serie A record, however, has tilted towards the visitors. Como are unbeaten in their last three Serie A meetings with Udinese, a run that includes the remarkable 4-1 home victory at the Stadio Sinigaglia in January 2025 and a 1-0 win in the January 2026 reverse fixture courtesy of a Lucas Da Cunha penalty.

When the two sides met at the Bluenergy Stadium in April 2026, the match finished goalless. That result extended an extraordinary statistic: Udinese have not lost a home fixture against Como in 9 consecutive meetings across all competitions.

Runjaic’s side drew 0-0 and did enough to frustrate a Como side that was mid-way through an eight-match unbeaten run at the time, with Okoye producing two saves in that fixture to keep the scoresheet blank.

The most recent completed fixture between these clubs also underlines how tight these meetings at the Bluenergy Stadium tend to be.

Of the three Serie A encounters played since Como’s promotion in 2024, two have been decided by a single goal and one ended goalless, averaging fewer than two goals per game at this venue.

Team News: Udinese vs Como

Udinese

The most significant absence for Runjaic is centre-back Christian Kabasele, who is serving the first of a two-match disqualification after receiving a direct red card for violent conduct in the final weeks of last season.

The Belgian defender will not be available until at least September, which means Nicolo Bertola and Matteo Palma are expected to form a back three alongside Oumar Solet.

Giorgi Chakvetadze, who arrived on loan in January from Como (the reverse of Vojvoda’s deal), is currently injured and will not feature. Alessandro Zanoli is also unavailable, his ACL recovery continuing. Daniele Padelli, now 40 years old, retains his place as Okoye’s experienced backup but should not be required to start.

The new wing-back arrival Vojvoda is likely to start on the right, giving Runjaic a player who already knows Como’s system from the inside. Up front, Davis and Nicolo Zaniolo are expected to continue their partnership, with Davis having already found the net in competitive action this season against Padova.

Udinese Predicted XI (3-5-2)Okoye; Bertola, Palma, Solet; Vojvoda, Ekkelenkamp, Karlstrom, Piotrowski, Kamara; Davis, Zaniolo.

Como

Fabregas has a near-fully fit squad to choose from. Jayden Addai, the Dutch winger, remains sidelined with an ACL injury and is the only confirmed absentee. Beyond that, the summer reinforcements mean Como carry more squad depth into this opener than any rival at their level.

The question mark for Fabregas concerns how quickly his new signings settle. Trevoh Chalobah has Champions League experience from his time at Chelsea and is expected to slot straight into the centre of defence, while Couto has impressed in pre-season and should take the right-back berth ahead of Ignace Van der Brempt. Assane Diao, the young Senegalese winger, is tipped to start on the right side of the attacking three.

Baturina is the most likely to start from the left, with Paz behind the striker. Douvikas leads the line as the focal point of the attack.

Como Predicted XI: Butez; Couto, Chalobah, Ramon, Valle; Perrone, Da Cunha; Diao, Paz, Baturina; Douvikas.

Maduka Okoye: Udinese’s Most Important Player

Born in Germany to Nigerian parents and raised partly between two footballing cultures, Maduka Okoye has developed into one of Serie A’s more compelling goalkeepers, his 197cm frame and strong shot-stopping instincts making him the bedrock on which Runjaic has constructed Udinese’s revival.

Okoye arrived at the Bluenergy Stadium in August 2023 from Watford and has become the club’s undisputed first-choice, making 30 Serie A appearances last season with a save percentage of 71.7 per cent and ten clean sheets. When Runjaic speaks of his team’s defensive organisation, Okoye is the starting point rather than the afterthought.

The season was not without its difficulties: the goalkeeper picked up a red card during a 1-5 defeat in Florence early in the campaign, a match that threatened to disrupt his form. He responded with a strong second half to the campaign, and his FotMob rating of 7.01 across the full 2025-26 season reflects a consistent and reliable performer rather than one prone to conceding from distance.

For Nigeria, Okoye is the Super Eagles’ first-choice for now, a status that has come with scrutiny and competition. He goes into this season as the most capped current goalkeeper at the club and as a player whose market value, estimated at around €8.9 million with a contract running to June 2028, has held firm despite interest from elsewhere.

Como finished the 2025-26 season as the second-highest scorers in Serie A after Inter Milan, which represents one of the sternest individual tests he will face this season.

How he copes with Douvikas, Baturina and Paz dictating the game in front of him will matter as much as any save he makes.

The Managers

Kosta Runjaic (Udinese)

The 54-year-old Runjaic, born in Vienna but German by nationality, was a virtually unknown appointment when Udinese hired him in the summer of 2024 after a season that had seen the club use three coaches and narrowly avoid relegation.

His previous work in Poland, five years at Pogon Szczecin followed by two at Legia Warsaw (where he won the Polish Cup in 2022-23), had produced consistent results without attracting widespread attention in Italy’s football circles.

His first season in Serie A produced a 12th-place finish; his second improved to 10th, continuing a trajectory that has taken Udinese progressively further from the relegation zone.

Runjaic works with compact, disciplined defensive lines and values team organisation over individual expression; Udinese have become harder to beat under him without necessarily becoming a free-scoring side. Now entering his third year at the club, he has the contract security of a deal running to June 2027.

Cesc Fabregas (Como)

At 39, Fabregas is one of the youngest head coaches in Serie A and one of the most watched.

The former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder, who retired from playing in 2023 after a season at Como as a player, took the club’s permanent managerial role in July 2024 having earned his UEFA Pro Licence just weeks earlier.

His first season as permanent manager produced 10th place and survival; his second produced fourth place and Champions League football.

The possession-oriented system Fabregas installs, favouring a patient 4-2-3-1 that builds through the double pivot of Maxime Perrone and Lucas Da Cunha, produced the league’s best defensive record last season: Como kept 19 clean sheets, more than any other club. The challenge now is maintaining that level while managing European competition for the first time in the club’s history.

Udinese vs Como Tactical Preview

The tactical contrast between these two sides is pronounced and shapes how the match is likely to unfold. Runjaic’s Udinese defend deep in a back three, compress central space with their midfield block, and look to exploit transitions quickly through the movement of Davis.

Como press from the front with a commitment that, at their peak last season, produced a PPDA (passes allowed per defensive action) of just 8.6, a figure that ranked as the lowest in Serie A at the time of the clubs’ January fixture, meaning they force turnovers aggressively and high up the pitch.

Against a Udinese defence that has lost both Kristensen and Atta from its structure, and that opens this season without Kabasele in the back three, that press could create problems early on.

Vojvoda, new to Runjaic’s system having spent last season at the very club he now faces, will need to track Diao’s runs on Como’s right and still offer attacking support when Udinese have the ball.

Kamara, reliable and experienced at left wing-back, will face a different kind of challenge in Baturina, who now steps into a more central creative role but prefers to drift into half-spaces rather than hold his width.

Paz, the player who drove Como’s Champions League charge last season would be looking to spin some creativity in the final third.

Como’s vulnerability, even against mid-table opposition last season, was to pace in behind their high defensive line. Davis is not a traditional counter-attacking striker, but Zaniolo’s movement off the second striker position is unpredictable.

Chalobah, new to this defensive unit and pairing with Jacobo Ramon for the first time, will need time to build the communication that comes with familiarity.

One or two early set-piece situations for Udinese, where their physical back three can cause problems at corners, could be significant given Bertola’s recorded threat from dead balls last season.

Udinese vs Como Betting Tips and Prediction

Our Udinese vs Como Score Prediction