Udinese manager Kosta Runjaic stated that Zaniolo will be included in the squad to face Cagliari, but whether he will start remains undecided.

Udinese will face Cagliari in Round 5 of the 2024/25 season. Discussing the team's recent form, Runjaic said: "We are moving in the right direction, and there have been good periods in our matches. We focus on the players we have, not those we are missing. The team needs to improve in some aspects and try to maintain good form throughout the match. Honestly, I wish we had 2 or 3 more points now, but we must continue working calmly. The season has just started, and there are important matches and very important matches in Serie A. Tomorrow is a very important match for us, and we will play in front of our home supporters. There will be many matches after the international break. Not everything was ideal before, but we can continue to improve, and I think the team can have a good season."

Regarding Zaniolo's situation, Runjaic said: "Zaniolo will be with us, but we haven't made a final decision on how to use him. We still need to assess tonight whether he will start or come off the bench, and we will decide together tomorrow. He says he feels good and has completed two full training sessions. However, he has been out for some time, and we must consider the risks. I hope to see him play against Cagliari tomorrow, and then he can use the international break to recover to peak condition. We know that with him, the team will be stronger. He has quality and is very familiar with Serie A. His career is far from over, and it's unfortunate that he suffered this injury."

Discussing Cagliari, Runjaic said: "This match is difficult to compare with the match against Inter Milan. We quickly went two goals up, but perhaps that wasn't ideal, because then we created too many chances for Inter Milan. I don't think Cagliari will press in the same way, but they have good counterattacks and run a lot. They have 9 points, and one might think a draw is acceptable, but both sides will certainly try to win. If we allow Cagliari to control the ball, they will also have the ability to control the situation. This will be a difficult and very important match."

Regarding Zanoli's physical condition, Runjaic said: "We will only field a player when we are confident about their fitness. This applies to Zaniolo, and it also applies to Zanoli. Zanoli has worked hard to recover from his ACL injury. Before the match against Inter Milan, we decided to leave him out to give him more recovery time. Zaniolo will be with us, and Zanoli's condition still needs to be monitored. What is certain is that compared to last week, the team's injury situation has improved."

Discussing other options for the attacking midfielder role, Runjaic said: "Chakvetadze and one or two other players can play in this position. Chakvetadze performed well when he came on as a substitute against Inter Milan and showed some experience. I hope to see him get more playing time. Oier Olazabal is still adapting to the new environment and needs to absorb a lot of information. He must win his duels, make good use of space, and we also hope he does more when he has the ball. At San Siro, he had a chance in the box. If he had played more decisively, he could have shot directly, like Barella did. All of this is part of the adaptation and integration process. He needs to try to dribble more. He has good strength and good left-foot technique. In this week's training sessions, he showed some performances that made us wonder, 'Why didn't you do this at San Siro?' Against Monza, he played well, and we won the match. Having ups and downs in the adaptation process is normal."

Website AF đã ra mắt! Xem tin tức đầy đủ, bình luận, chi tiết trận đấu và thống kê trên máy tính. Truy cập: www.allfootballapp.com