TURIN, Italy – OCTOBER 29: Kenan Yildiz of Juventus FC is tackled by Arthur Atta of Udinese Calcio during the Serie A match between Juventus FC and Udinese Calcio on October 29, 2025 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Penisino/Getty Images)
Juventus begin their Coppa Italia campaign with a visit to Udinese in the round of 16 on Thursday evening, and in the absence of leading goalscorer Dusan Vlahovic, Luciano Spalletti has turned to Jonathan David and Kenan Yildiz in attack.
Kick-off is scheduled for 20.00 GMT (21.00 CET).
You can follow the action on the Football Italia liveblog.
Juventus confirmed earlier on Tuesday that Spalletti would be without six first-team players including Dusan Vlahovic, Gleison Bremner, Daniele Rugani, Arkadiusz Milik and goalkeepers Mattia Perin and Carlo Pinsoglio.
Vlahovic is set to be sidelined for at least three months due to a high-grade adductor tear, although some reports suggest the recovery period could potentially be closer to five months. This means that Yildiz and David Has been chosen to lead the Bianconeri attack in the cup this evening.
Perin had started Juve’s last two matches against Cagliari and Bodø/Glimt, but has been sidelined with a muscle injury, meaning Michel Di Gregorio has returned in goal.
Pre-match reports suggest that the Juventus team will line up away from the 3-4-2-1 shape that Spalletti had maintained for the early period of his Bianconeri tenure. Pierre Kalulu is expected to start at right-back, with Juan Cabal on the opposite flank and Federico Gatti and Lloyd Kelly at centre-back.
Khefren Thuram and Manuel Locatelli have been rested in midfield, while the duo of Teun Koopminers and Fabio Miretti have been selected in the center of the park. Weston McKennie and Andrea Cambiasso are likely to start as wide midfielders.
Udinese have already defeated Carraras and Palermo in the first round of the Coppa Italia to qualify for this evening’s round of 16 clash.
Kosta Runjic’s team travels to Turin without Thomas Christensen or Hasane Kamara. The coach has made several changes, but star attacker Nicolo Zaniolo has been selected as the starter in Turin.
Juventus vs Udinese: Confirmed line-ups
Juventus (3-4-2-1): Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Gatti, Kelly, Cabal; McKennie, Koopmans, Miretti, Cambiaso; Yildiz, David.
Udinese (3-5-2): Sawa; Palma, Sollet, Bertola; Ehizibu, Lovric, Zarraga, Atta, Zemura; Zaniolo, Buxa.
<a href=