Both Udinese and Inter will have something to prove when they square off in the Coppa Italia Last 16 stage clash, having suffered Serie A defeats at the weekend.

This has been a very difficult week for Friulani, who were not only beaten at home by Hellas Verona, but also learned that star striker Antonio Di Natale plans to retire at the end of the current campaign.

And no doubt it will be a huge blow for the club coming from the player who has scored 163 league goals for the Stadio Friuli outfit.

Nevertheless, the Zebrette need to make the most out of Di Natale’s final season in professional football, although that will be no easy task.

Udinese slipped to 13th in Serie A following the 3-1 loss to Hellas Verona, and they have no choice but to try and arrest the poor run against Inter.

However, with Francesco Guidolin likely to rest some of his key men in midweek, it is hardly surprising the hosts are 2.88 (17/9) to win in regular time.

Luis Muriel and Francesco Benussi remain sidelined, whereas Badu, Maicosuel and Bruno Fernandes are all likely to be drafted in.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-1-1): Kelava – Heurtaux, Naldo, Danilo, Gabriel Silva – Basta, Badu, Lazzari, Fernandes – Maicosuel – Di Natale.

New Inter boss Walter Mazzarri impressed everyone with the strong start to the season, but the Nerazzurri haven’t quite managed to keep the rich vein of form.

Even with several important players returning to the side, Inter slipped to sixth place in the overall standings after recording just one victory in last six league fixtures.

The team also struggled in Coppa Italia match against minnows Trapani, which is enough to suggest the Nerazzurri are far from the desired form at the moment.

Weekend’s 1-0 defeat to Lazio further damaged their top 3 hopes, and with victory a must in next league match against Chievo, Walter Mazzarri looks set to make wholesale changes to the side for the Udinese game.

Even so, Inter remain 1.80 (4/5) favourites to qualify for the quarter-finals, but they will certainly have to work hard for a win at Friuli.

Fredy Guarin could play some part as he is suspended for the Chievo match, but Saphir Taider, McDonald Mariga and Cristian Chivu remain on the sidelines.

Probable starting line-up (3-5-1-1): Carrizo – Andreoli, Ranocchia, Samuel – Wallace, Mudingayi, Kuzmanovic, Kovacic, Pereira – Belfodil – Icardi.