Inter Milan vs Udinese - prediction, team news, lineups

By Jonathan O'Shea | 12 Sep 2026 08:56, Last updated: 12 Sep 2026 09:00

After suffering their first defeat of the season, reigning Serie A champions Inter Milan will aim to extend a perfect start to their domestic campaign when Udinese visit San Siro on Monday. 

While Inter came up short in a heavyweight Champions League clash, their visitors were also beaten for the first time last week.

Shoved onto the back foot by defensive mistakes, Inter all but handed Real Madrid a two-goal lead in Tuesday's Champions League opener, and they were never able to recover at the Bernabeu.

Though Carlos Augusto's late strike set up a tense finale, the Italian giants had to leave the Spanish capital empty-handed, as their 100% start to the season came to an end. 

Cristian Chivu's side must quickly put that setback behind them, with two more domestic games to fit in before international football intervenes.

Before visiting potential Scudetto rivals Roma, they will look to build on last week's thrilling 3-2 win over Napoli, in which Inter trailed by two before Lautaro Martinez bailed them out again by bagging a brace. 

The Nerazzurri's skipper struck either side of a Marcus Thuram leveller - with the latter goal coming in stoppage time - so they have won their first three league games with an aggregate score of 8-3.

In Serie A this calendar year, Inter average 2.8 goals per game at San Siro; and having won 18 of the last 23 league meetings with Udinese, they have every reason to feel confident.

Udinese did win in Milan last season, though, ending a streak of seven consecutive away defeats to Inter.

Dating back to the tail end of last term, the Bianconeri have also won four of their last six away games, including their first of the current campaign.

Until Monday, Kosta Runjaic and co had come through two cup ties and stayed unbeaten in Serie A, but a home loss to Lazio stalled that early momentum.

The hosts initially led through captain Jesper Karlstrom, but conceding two goals in the final 15 minutes cost them dearly.

Having held high-flying Como to a draw and won in Monza, then progressed to the last 16 of the Coppa Italia, the Fruilani were finally halted.

Now, Runjaic - who led Udinese to 10th place last season - will try to provoke an immediate response and pull off another shock win over Inter.

Chivu handed Curtis Jones his first Inter start in Madrid, after the English midfielder made a big impact against Napoli, while Benjamin Pavard and Carlos Augusto were also brought in.

The latter replaced Federico Dimarco, who missed out with a minor injury, but last season's Serie A MVP should return on Monday evening.

However, his fellow wing-back Djed Spence is still unavailable, having only resumed training on Thursday.

Including the winner in Udine last term, Martinez has scored seven league goals against Udinese; meanwhile, the visitors' Keinan Davis set up one and scored the other at San Siro last August. 

After assisting Karlstrom's strike against Lazio, Davis should continue to lead the Fruilani's front line, despite being withdrawn as a precaution.

Runjaic lost both Jakub Piotrowski and Oumar Solet to injury during that defeat, adding to a long absence list: Nicolo Zaniolo, Matteo Palma, Juan Arizala and Alessandro Zanoli were already sidelined.

J. Martinez; Akanji, Stones, Bastoni; Diouf, Zielinski, Calhanoglu, Jones, Dimarco; L. Martinez, Esposito

Okoye; Abankwah, Kabasele, Ebosse; Vojvoda, Karlstrom, Miller, Kamara; Ekkelenkamp, Gomez; Davis

Inter will bounce back from their error-strewn first half at the Bernabeu by claiming maximum points in Serie A.

Although Udinese can be tough opponents, they are missing some key players and have conceded twice in their last two league games.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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