What: UEFA Cup 1st Round, First Leg
Who: Borussia Dortmund - Udinese
When: Thursday, September 18, 20:45 (CET)
Where: Signal Iduna Park

FORM GUIDE

Borussia Dortmund
September 13 vs Shalke 04 (H) DREW 3-3 (Bundesliga)

August 30 vs Energie Cottbus (A) WON 1-0 (Bundesliga)

August 23 vs Bayern Munich (H) DREW 1-1 (Bundesliga)

August 16 vs Bayer Leverkusen (A) WON 3-2 (Bundesliga)

August 08 vs Rot-Weiss Essen (A) WON 3-1 (DfB Cup)

Udinese
September 14 vs Juventus (A) LOST 1-0 (Serie A)

August 30 vs Palermo (H) WON 3-1 (Serie A)

August 24 vs Espanyol (A) LOST 1-0 (Friendly)

August 21 vs Villarreal (A) WON 1-0 (Friendly)

August 06 vs PAOK (A) LOST 3-1 (Friendly)

Borussia Dortmund
Possible starting XI: Ziegler- Schmelzer, Hummels, Subotic, Rukavina- Kringe, Kehl, Hajnal, Kuba- Zidan, Frei

Udinese
Possible starting XI: Handanovic- Pasquale, Coda, Lukovic, Domizzi- Inler, D’Agostino, Tissone- Pepe, Di Natale, Quagliarella

Prediction
Borussia Dortmund 1–2 Udinese

Giuseppe Pisaniello - Footballitaliano.org

Injuries are a major concern for the Rossoneri ahead of their UEFA Cup first round match with Andrea Pirlo being the latest casualty added to the list.

Under pressure Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti is also without defender Alessandro Nesta, midfielder Gennaro Gattuso and veteran striker Filippo Inzaghi through injury. The first leg is to be played at the San Siro against a Swiss side desperate to progress to the group stages. Milan will need to improve their form and get over the slump that they are stuck in at the moment in order to mount a challenge against what could prove to be a difficult opponent.

Peter Pedroncelli - footballitaliano.org

The UEFA Cup first round gets underway for Sampdoria on Thursday with a home encounter against Lithuanian side Kaunas, who eliminated last year’s runners-up Glasgow Rangers.

The first leg of this encounter is to be played at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris. Up front Sampdoria have the undoubtedly talented Antonio Cassano who will be crucial to the success of the Blucerchiati. The Lithuanian side could respond to the Sampdoria challenge with the more than able skills of Brazilian Rafael Ledesma. A great deal will depend on the performances of these two individuals.

Peter Pedroncelli - footballitaliano.org