Udinese v West Ham United
Mid-season match, Dacia Arena, Saturday 10 December 2022, 3pm CET (2pm GMT)
West Ham United continue their preparations for the restart of the 2022/23 domestic and European season with a trip to northern Italy on Saturday.
The Hammers make a first-ever visit to the city of Udine in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, which is situated between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps in the far north-east of the country, near to the border with Slovenia.
Udinese Calcio were formed in 1896 and play at the 25,000-capacity Dacia Arena. Owned by the Pozzo family, who also own Watford, Udinese are currently competing in their 50th season in Serie A.
David Moyes will be without his five FIFA World Cup representatives but will give his other senior players important match minutes ahead of the return of Premier League football at Arsenal on Boxing Day.
The Irons returned to training on 30 November and to the pitch on Tuesday evening, when goals from Jarrod Bowen and Saïd Benrahma helped the Londoners to a 4-2 win at EFL League One side Cambridge United in Greg Taylor’s Testimonial match.
Saturday’s game will see Moyes’ men take on an Udinese team which has made an encouraging start to the Serie A campaign, losing just three of 15 matches to go into the mid-season break in eighth place on 24 points.
Tickets…
We have been allocated 1,300 tickets, priced at €15 each. To purchase, click here and select CURVA OSPITI (Guest Section).
Supporters can purchase their seats on the Ticket Exchange, while Season Ticket Holders who cannot make this match can also relist their seat, allowing fellow fans the chance to be at the game and fill London Stadium with the Claret and Blue Army.
How to follow…
We will be live streaming Saturday's game on our YouTube channel, while you will also be able to watch on our official website and App.
You can also follow the action via our live blog on whufc.com and our app and across our social media channels. We will also have highlights and exclusive reaction for you after the final whistle.
Travel…
Click here to view our Over Land and Sea supporters' guide for details of how to get to and from Udine for Saturday's game.
Team News…
David Moyes will be without the five players who were selected by their respective nations for the FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar - Declan Rice, Alphonse Areola, Thilo Kehrer, Nayef Aguerd and Lucas Paquetá.
The manager was without Maxwel Cornet and Tomáš Souček for the midweek match at Cambridge United, while Aaron Cresswell was withdrawn during the first half.
Udinese are managed by their former defender Andrea Sottil. His squad includes a number of players who will be familiar to Premier League supporters through the Italian club's relationship with Watford - namely Nigeria forward Isaac Success, Spanish forward Gerard Deulofeu, Moroccan full-back Adam Masina and Argentinian forward Roberto Pereyra.
The opposition…
Udinese Calcio was formed in 1896 as a sports club, before becoming a football club in 1911.
Eleven years later, Udinese reached the inaugural Coppa Italia final, finishing as runners-up to Vado.
After playing in the local Venetian leagues and making their way up through the divisions, Udinese were promoted to Serie A for the first time in 1949/50. Five years later, the club came second to AC Milan - a record high finish that has never since been repeated.
By the mid-1960s, however, Udinese, had been relegated to Serie C, where they remained for over a decade. The club then won back-to-back promotions at the end of the 1970s to return to Serie A in 1978/79. They then recruited the great Brazil playmaker Zico for a two-season spell between 1983-85.
The mid-1980s saw Udinese deducted points and relegated again due to an off-field scandal, and the became something of a yo-yo club before bouncing back to Serie A for good in 1995/96.
Since then, Udinese have thrived, playing in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, and forging a reputation for recruiting and developing outstanding talent from Italy and abroad.
Among the club's outstanding talents in recent decades have been Italy forwards Fabio Quagliarella, Vincenzo Iaquinta and Antonio Di Natale and Argentina midfielder Rodrigo De Paul.
Udinese have finished in the bottom half of Serie A in each of the previous nine seasons, but have started the current campaign strongly under Sottil's management.
Previous meetings…
Despite both hailing from countries steeped in football history and achievement, West Ham United and Udinese have never met previously.
Indeed, the Hammers have not been regular visitors to Italy down the years, not making their first visit until September 1975, when the FA Cup holders were beaten 1-0 by Fiorentina in the Anglo-Italian Cup final first leg. Fiorentina won the second leg by the same scoreline at the Boleyn Ground three months later.
The Irons returned to Italy in the same competition – albeit in a different format – in the 1992/93 season, when Billy Bonds’ side took on Serie B opponents Cremonese (0-2) and Cosenza (1-0) in Italy, and Reggiana (2-0) and Pisa (0-0) in east London.
Our most recent visit to Italy was in late September 2006, when Palermo proved too strong in the UEFA Cup first round, winning a second-leg tie 3-0 in Sicily to complete a 4-0 aggregate victory.
