The Bianconeri coach is looking forward to their match against the Greek side, and does not want his team to think about Antonio Di Natale and Mauricio Isla injuries
Udinese head-coach, Francesco Guidolin, has advised his players to concentrate their energies in winning against PAOK in the upcoming UEFA Europa League tie.
The Bianconeri are set to play against the Greek side in the last 32 round of the competition at Stadio Friuli on Thursday, February 16.
Guidolin respects his opposition, mentioning that they accumulated 12 points in the group stages, eliminating Tottenham Hotspur in the process.
“That is all I need to say in order to present PAOK. The team is in good shape, very dangerous and going through an extremely positive period of form,” said a cautious Guidolin.
The Zebrette have been criticised for giving preference to their progress in the Serie A, and not giving enough respect to the Europa League. Guidolin rubbished such talks, emphasising that they are in the competition and would
compete to the best of their abilities.
Guidolin commented:
“We already have European competition right here and we will give all our efforts to continue this journey, albeit aware of the difficulties that we face. There are absentees, but we have to focus on who is able to play tomorrow.
It’s XI against XI and we will try to win.”
Udinese finished second in Group I with just nine points from six matches. However, they managed only two wins in the group stages.
The Zebrette’s chances of winning the game have been hampered by injuries to their start players, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mauricio-Isla-c24922.
The two players have been pivotal behind Udinese’s success, playing a major part in their impressive league campaign. Di Natale suffered a micro-fracture to his foot in the 2-1 defeat against A.C Milan recently, and is set to miss
the match against PAOK. The Italian international is leading the goal-scoring charts of the 2011/12 Serie A season.
On the other hand, Isla has undergone a surgery to his damaged knee ligaments, and is expected to be out of the Bianconeri side for approximately three months.
Tags: