Udinese will host AS Roma at the Bluenergy Stadium on Saturday in a pivotal Serie A fixture that could influence both the title race and the future of Udinese manager Kosta Runjaic. Roma, managed by Gian Piero Gasperini, sit four points behind league leaders Lazio and Inter Milan, and a victory would narrow the gap ahead of the Derby della Madonnina later the same day.
The match also evokes memories of one of Francesco Totti's most celebrated goals for Roma. The former captain, who retired in 2017 after scoring 307 goals in 786 appearances for his boyhood club, netted a remarkable volley against Udinese at the Stadio Olimpico on October 2, 2002. Totti, who won the 2000-01 Serie A title — the last Scudetto for the Giallorossi — described the goal in an interview with Corriere dello Sport.
Recalling the strike, Totti said: "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."
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
