It will be up to Udinese to try and stop invincible Roma on Sunday afternoon, with Zebrette’s formidable home record giving them reason for optimism.

Meanwhile, the Giallorossi are searching for their ninth successive victory after seeing off title contenders Napoli, but they arrive at Friuli without two very important players.

Even if this is not their usual trait, Udinese have been quite predictable this season, that is if we disregard their shock exit from the Europa League at the hands of Slovan Liberec.

And while the Zebrette have lost all four away fixtures in the league this term, albeit not by a big margin, they have continued with strong performances at home, winning three of four matches, while sharing spoils with Bologna.

Home field advantage could prove crucial to team’s chances of stopping red-hot Roma, who have yet to drop their first points of the campaign, but there is still little value in odds of 3.50 (5/2) for a home win.

The hosts will be heavily relying on top scorer Antonio Di Natale, who may not be in the form of his life, but is still the number one name on the team sheet.

The good news is there are no fresh injury worries for Francesco Guidolin, although important defender Maurizio Domizzi remains doubtful.

Probable starting line-up (3-5-1-1): Kelava – Heurtaux, Danilo, Naldo – Basta, Pinzi, Allan, Lazzari, Silva – Muriel – Di Natale.

Journalists everywhere are slowly running out of superlatives to describe Roma’s performances this season, and it remains to be see how much longer can the team keep the rich vein of form.

Eight straight victories have seen them open up a five-point lead at the Serie A summit, with comfortable triumphs over Lazio, Inter and Napoli proving the Giallorossi mean business.

Roma not only won all eight matches this term, but kept a total of seven clean sheets, with summer signing from Udinese Mehdi Benatia proving an instant hit.

The Giallorossi may be going into this match without two important players, but they remain 2.30 (13/10) favourites to extend their unbelievable run.

The impressive victory over Napoli did come at a cost as forwards Francesco Totti and Gervinho picked up injuries that will see them miss the trip to Udine.

Meanwhile, talented forward Mattia Destro is still sidelined with a knee problem, meaning that Marco Borriello is set to be deployed as a lone striker.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): De Sanctis – Maicon, Benatia, Castan, Balzaretti – Strootman, De Rossi, Pjanic – Florenzi, Borriello, Ljajic.