Slumping Udinese puts Kosta Runjaic's future on the line against title-contending Roma

Saturday's match between Udinese and AS Roma will likely decide the future of Bianconeri head coach Kosta Runjaic. The German manager, who made a surprise move to Udinese in the summer of 2024, enjoyed a positive start to his spell at the club. He guided the team to 12th place in his first season and then 10th in the following campaign, while implementing an attractive style of football and helping several key players fulfill their potential. Among them were Nicolo Zaniolo, defender Oumar Solet, English striker Keinan Davis and Arthur Atta, who joined Fiorentina this summer.

However, things became difficult in the first part of the 2026-27 season, and Saturday's match against AS Roma could be a crucial test for his future at the club. Udinese lost six games in a row before drawing 0-0 away to Parma on Wednesday. Despite a solid start to the season, with a convincing home draw against Como on the opening day followed by an away win at Monza, Udinese are now 17th in the standings, with only nine goals scored and 18 conceded in nine matches. That is why the game, played on Halloween, could be the last call for his future at the club, even though the ownership has backed him and confirmed he will stay in the job at least until the November international break. 

How to watch Udinese vs. Roma

Date: Saturday, Oct. 31 | Time: 1 p.m. ET

Location: Bluenergy Stadium -- Udine, Italy

TV: CBS

Odds: Udinese +448; Draw +337; AS Roma -198

Before Udinese's away draw against Parma, sporting director Gianluca Nani called for a reaction from the team after a challenging moment. "We are coming off six consecutive defeats, but we firmly believe that this team is not who we really are. We are the same side that put in some impressive performances, against Como, for example, and also against Lazio. This is not an easy period, and it is our responsibility to turn things around and get back on the path we set out on two years ago," he told DAZN.

He added, "Performances like the one against Lecce are unacceptable, and the players know that. We want to see greater focus on individual moments in the game. In the other matches, the performances have always been there. Take the game in Turin, for example: we should have won that one. The team must give everything, because when you do that, the results will follow. We are going through a difficult spell, but we must not be afraid. Instead, we need to find the motivation to get through it. It is up to us to turn things around."

Keinan Davis on Morning Footy

Udinese striker Keinan Davis spoke to CBS Sports Golazo's Morning Footy ahead of the clash with AS Roma, discussing the differences between playing in Serie A and English football: "It's good to be honest. It's to be fair, when people ask me it's kind of like Stevenage where it's just like its own town and it's just kind of slow, you know. So it was quite easy in that sense to adapt. It's not like fast-paced or anything. And then just the people, they just love football, you know. Italians, they just love their football, and it's kind of where they wear their heart on their sleeve, and they're so passionate, you know. So obviously we're passionate about football as well, so it just goes hand in hand. And then on that side of things, it just takes care of itself, you know, you spend a lot of time in the training ground. You're back at home, you might go to a restaurant or something, and it's just all love really."

"Compared to England, it's much slower, I'd say. And more it's more structured and tactical. You get, like less 1v1 kind of actions. In the Premier League or in the Championship, you get a lot of, like, wing play. Here they play a lot of five at the back. So it's usually wing-backs and a lot of crosses and stuff like that. Up against three defenders when you're a lone striker, you obviously got so many battles you got to come across in the game. And England is very different; you get like a lot of 1v1 actions or a lot of just like where you'd have to use your physicality more. Over here it's kind of just using your mind more, being in the right position at the right time, I'd say."

He also underlined the differences in the life he's having in Italy. "To be honest, I prefer the food in England than to Italy, which is crazy. I said this before when I got here, but yeah. I'm just a very basic eater, you know? And I'm very picky as well so I don't like too much sauce or too much stuff like that. So the food I get in England is just it suits me."

How de Roon is adapting in Rome

AS Roma midfielder Marten de Roon also joined the Morning Footy crew to discuss his impact at the club after his surprise summer move from Atalanta. De Roon, who previously played under Roma coach Gian Piero Gasperini at Atalanta, seemed happy to be working with him again: "I'm happy to re-find him and it was like he's never gone away. Still the same ideas, some developments, but in the end, yeah, his playing style, the way he wants to do things, I still memorize it. So, it was quite easy to adapt to his playing style. The most important thing for me was to get back in condition because he's a coach who asks a lot from the players in the physical way. So, I needed some time to get back in condition. But now, yeah, I feel good. It's been amazing, the first two months, and yeah, really, really happy to be back with him as my coach." 

"What a hit." 🔥

Marten de Roon's first goal of the season is thumped in from outside the box 👏

Watch the #UCL on @ParamountPlus 📺 pic.twitter.com/uRNHZr55Ep

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) October 14, 2026

"What a hit." 🔥

Marten de Roon's first goal of the season is thumped in from outside the box 👏

Watch the #UCL on @ParamountPlus 📺 pic.twitter.com/uRNHZr55Ep

Later, he added: "I think the strength so far this season is that there's a real feeling for the team, the group. You see also in difficult moments like last week, but also against Napoli. We were behind and then we found the way to draw, to score goals. And he made a lot of changes, guys who came in. So it looks like the group is quite big, that we can play with different players at the same level. We don't lose quality by changing players. And I think that's the most important thing, that even when somebody is feeling less for a day that there's someone else who can replace him and give the same amount of quality. And I think if we can continue this and even find some players back, and I think we have about 19, 20 players who can all play, and I think that, yeah, that makes the level even better for the team." 

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