2026-2027 Coppa Italia: Udinese vs. Padova, Probable Lineups

Udinese and Padova take the field at 6:30 p.m. for their match in the second round of the 2026-2027 Coppa Italia. The winner at Friuli Stadium will face either Venezia or Modena in the round of 16. The Bianconeri are coming off a strong victory against Barcelona and Nottingham in a three-team tournament a week ago, which boosted their confidence after a somewhat shaky start to preseason. In their most recent friendly, Padova drew 3-3 with Monza.

Runjaic will start with Davis as the center forward, supported behind him by Zaniolo and Ekkelenkamp. Vojvoda and Kamara will play on the wings, while Piotrowski partners with Karlstrom in midfield. The defensive trio consists of Bertola, Kabasele, and Solet.

Padova, which is fine-tuning its preparations ahead of its Serie B debut, will field many of its new signings, such as Lovato, Dellavalle, Pompettia, and Zanimacchia. Up front is the attacking duo of Bortolussi and Lasagna.

Udinese vs. Padova: Probable Lineups
UDINESE (3-4-2-1): Okoye; Bertola, Kabasele, Solet; Vojvoda, Piotrowski, Karlstrom, Kamara; Zaniolo, Ekkelenkamp; Davis. Coach: Runjaic.
PADOVA (3-5-2): Sorrentino; Dellavalle, Lovato, Pastina; Carissoni, Pompetti, Zuelli, Fusi, Zanimacchia; Bortolussi, Lasagna. Head Coach: Calabro.

At a press conference on the eve of the match, Runjaic addressed his players: “The Coppa Italia is very important to us and is the shortest route to Europe; we want to start off on the right foot and build momentum to keep things going well. Throughout the year, we’re competing on two fronts—the league and the cup—and the further we go, the tougher the matches become. In Italy, the cup has a different structure than in other countries; we have several rounds to get through to reach the final. Bologna recently won the Coppa Italia, proving that it can be done even as underdogs. We want to give it our all—we’re taking this competition seriously.”

Kristensen’s departure: “It was to be expected that Kristensen would leave. He was a key player for us; we’ll miss him at first, but now we need to focus on developing our young defenders so they can become the next Perez, Bijol, and Kristensen. I’m optimistic about their growth; we work with these guys every day, and they’re eager to improve. However, a game is different from practice; that’s where you see the progress.”