Luciano Spalletti believes any coach would be fortunate to be called upon by Juventus, as rumours continue to swirl regarding his possible appointment in Turin.

Juve parted company with Igor Tudor on Monday after a 1-0 defeat to Lazio stretched their winless streak to eight games across all competitions.

The Bianconeri are eighth in Serie A ahead of Wednesday's home clash with Udinese, who are only behind them on goal difference.

Youth coach Massimo Brambilla will oversee that match, but Juve are hopeful of having a permanent boss in the dugout when they visit Cremonese on Saturday.

And Spalletti, who guided Napoli to their first Scudetto since the Diego Maradona era in 2022-23, is considered the frontrunner, having been sacked by Italy in June.

Spalletti will reportedly hold talks with Juventus' hierarchy ahead of Wednesday's game, and when speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, he suggested he wanted the job.

"I feel good, I wait with serenity. I have the ambition to set things right," Spalletti said. 

"I can only speak highly of Tudor, he's a serious and passionate person. Whoever replaces him will be lucky because he'll find a well-trained team."

Francesco Totti – who played under Spalletti at Roma – believes his former boss would be an ideal selection, even if they clashed during the late stages of Totti's playing career. 

"From what is being rumoured, he's one of the candidates, and I think Juventus would make a great acquisition if they were to hire him," Totti told Corriere dello Sport

"Whenever he's gone, he's always done well. Many years have passed, and some things just need to be put aside."

Udinese beat Lecce 3-2 on Saturday, extending their unbeaten run to three Serie A games (D2).

Kosta Runjaic's team have won seven points on their travels in the Italian top flight this season, the joint-second most alongside Milan – only Roma (12) have more.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Juventus – Dusan Vlahovic

After not recording a goal involvement in his first three Serie A games against Udinese, Vlahovic has been involved in four goals (three goals, one assist) in his last four matches against them.

The Serbian could become only the second player in Serie A to reach 50 goals in the competition since the start of 2019-20, after Lautaro Martinez (58). He is currently on 48.

Udinese – Keinan Davis

Davis has scored three goals in eight Serie A games this season – the same number of goals he scored in the previous two seasons combined, in 31 matches. 

Furthermore, after his goal against Lecce, the English striker could find the net in two consecutive matches for the first time in either Serie A or the Premier League.

MATCH PREDICTION – JUVENTUS WIN

Udinese are the opponent against whom Juventus have won the highest percentage of their matches in Serie A (minimum 35 games played).

They have a 69% win ratio against them, winning 70 of 102 total games in the top flight (D18 L14).

But Juventus' last league victory was on September 13 against Inter, and since then they have gone eight competitive matches without a win (D5 L3). 

Only three times have the Bianconeri gone at least nine straight games without a win in all competitions (since 1929-30) – nine between February and April 1962, 13 between February and May 1956 and nine between June and October 1955.

The Bianconeri have also failed to score in their last four matches in all competitions. Only once in their history have they gone five competitive matches in a row without finding the net (since 1929-30) – between October and November 1967 under Heriberto Herrera.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Juventus – 62.8%

Udinese – 16.7%

Draw – 20.5%