UEFA Europa League Round of 32 - First Leg
, Feb 16, 2012
Ground: Stadio Friuli
, Kickoff: 20:05 , Att 17,000
Team news
Udinese suffer Di Natale blow Udinese must overcome the absence of captain Antonio Di Natale when they go up against PAOK Salonika in Thursday's Europa League last-32 first-leg encounter in Italy.
Di Natale, who is the top scorer in Serie A with 17 goals, is out with a foot injury while Udinese coach Francesco Guidolin will also be without the services of Chilean defender Mauricio Isla, who underwent right knee surgery on Wednesday.
Both players got hurt during last weekend's 2-1 loss to AC Milan.
"We have to focus on the players that we have available," Guidolin said. "Unfortunately, we have lost Isla for the remainder of the season while Di Natale is expected to recover soon.
"But we want to do well in this competition. This is an important test for us and I will try to put the best possible team against PAOK." With Di Natale unavailable, Antonio Floro Flores will lead Udinese's attack against PAOK.
Udinese will look to bounce back from Sunday's setback to AC Milan, their first league defeat at the Friuli stadium this season.
The result was Udinese's second straight loss and dropped them to fourth in the standings.
Guidolin believes his side faces a true test of strength against PAOK.
"We are well aware of the challenge that awaits us," he said.
"We face a strong rival and we will need to be focused from start to finish. PAOK has experience, they are well coached and they are difficult to beat.
"But I know my players will try to give their all to progress to the next round." Udinese have never lost at home to Greek opposition in European competition.
PAOK are unbeaten in the competition and finished top of Group A with 12 points to reach the knockout round.
The Greeks have won four of their last five games in the domestic Super League, including last weekend's 2-0 victory at OFI Crete, to climb to third place.
PAOK coach Laszlo Boloni will be without midfielder Vladan Ivic, who suffered a muscular injury at the weekend.
Udinese vs PAOK Salonika
Last modified 22:22 16/02/12
Italians held at home Udinese were held to a goalless draw by PAOK Salonika in the first leg of the last-32 Europa League tie as the absence of injured captain Antonio Di Natale told.
Di Natale, top scorer in Serie A with 17 goals was missing with a foot injury, and while the Italians created plenty of chances for his deputy Antonio Floro Flores, he was unable to find the net with any of them.
Almen Abdi struck a post early on but it proved to be a frustrating night for Francesco Guidolin's men, who now face a tricky second leg in Greece.
Giorgos Fotakis sent an early sighter over the bar from distance for the visitors before Udinese began to exert some sustained pressure.
Abdi was unlucky to see his shot from the edge of the area come back off the upright before Dario Kresic managed to hold Floro Flores' attempted lob.
A powerful effort from Michele Pazienza flashed wide of the post from Giampiero Pinzi's free-kick before Kresic was again called on to deny Floro Flores.
Mehdi Benatia then tried his luck from range but his shot went over.
PAOK were being restricted to long-range efforts, with Konstantinos Stafylidis and Pablo Garcia both off target with shots from 30 yards.
Floro Flores was also content to strike from distance, but his 35-yard effort was easy for Kresic, who then needed to be far more alert to keep out a close-range effort from Pablo Armero as half-time approached.
Floro Flores came out shooting in the second half, but his first effort went wide before Kresic punched clear the second from closer range.
Fotakis saw a powerful shot comfortably held by Samir Handanovic before Udinese began to take control of possession again.
Abdi's long-range shot was wide while Benatia fired over from Abdi's corner.
Another set-piece from Abdi set up Pablo Armero but he too failed to keep his shot down.
| Player rating out of ten | Player name | Substitution | Did they score? | Player's disciplinary record | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samir Handanovic | ||||
| 17 | Mehdi Benatia | ||||
| 5 | Larangera Danilo | ||||
| 11 | Maurizio Domizzi | ||||
| 8 | Dusan Basta | ||||
| 23 | Almen Abdi | ||||
| 4 | Michele Pazienza | ||||
| 66 | Giampiero Pinzi(sub 56) |
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| 26 | Giovanni Pasquale | ||||
| 27 | Pablo Armero | ||||
| 83 | Antonio Floro Flores | ||||
| Substitutes | |||||
| 21 | Daniele Padelli | ||||
| 13 | Piccoli Neuton | ||||
| 18 | Cristian Battocchio | ||||
| 24 | Joel Ekstrand | ||||
| 31 | Diego Fabbrini(sub 56) |
|
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| 32 | Damiano Ferronetti | ||||
| 50 | Marco Piscopo | ||||
| Player rating out of ten | Player name | Did they score? | Player's disciplinary record | Substitution | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 91 | Dario Kresic | ||||
| 27 | Miroslaw Sznaucner | ||||
| 8 | Bruno Cirillo | ||||
| 13 | Stilianos Malezas | ||||
| 3 | Konstantinos Stafylidis | ||||
| 25 | Costin Lazar |
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| 5 | Perez Pablo Garcia | ||||
| 18 | Giorgos Fotakis |
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| 9 | Dimitris Salpingidis | ||||
| 33 | Stefanos Athanasiadis(sub 75) |
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| 7 | Georgios Georgiadis(sub 83) |
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| Substitutes | |||||
| 1 | Kostas Chalkias | ||||
| 2 | Alexandros Apostolopoulos | ||||
| 4 | Sotirios Balafas | ||||
| 16 | Dorvalino Lino(sub 83) |
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| 28 | Stavros Tsoukalas | ||||
| 88 | Frederic Nimani N'galou | ||||
| 99 | Apostolos Giannou(sub 75) |
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| Team | Udinese | PAOK Salonika |
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