Udinese are a rarity in Serie A, an organised club with a clear plan of what they want to achieve and how they intend to do it. They believe in young players, giving them the playing time and coaching needed to thrive while also providing a stable and calm environment, away from the pressures of the bigger teams.
That continuity, along with the excellent tactical acumen of Francesco Guidolin is in stark contrast to a Juventus side that, over the past two years has bought an almost entirely new squad, a change of management running the club, yet another new coach in Antonio Conte and this season even a new stadium to call home. The black and white striped shirts are, at first glance. just about the only similarity between the two clubs who face each other on Sunday as Serie A finally returns.
One thing the two Bianconeri outfits have in common however is the iconic figures wearing not only the famous number 10 shirt for their respective sides but also the captains armband with incredible class and a quiet dignity, leading their teams by setting their standards far higher than most.
Aside from these intangible qualities, Antonio Di Natale and Alessandro Del Piero also both continue to guarantee goals as they always have done, their scoring rate showing no signs of slowing despite the two men being well into their thirties.
Del Piero, fast approaching his 37th birthday and entering his nineteenth season in Turin, holds the all-time goalscoring and appearance records at Juventus. He is eighth in the Champions League all-time goalscoring records and Italy's joint fourth (with Roberto Baggio) highest scorer of all-time.
Top scorer in Serie A for the 2007-08 season, Del Piero's role at Juventus has become one of an impact substitute, starting less and less games but he has adapted well and lost little of the effectiveness displayed at the peak of his career. While he only scored eight times last season, he added three assists which, due to his reduced playing time, still allowed him to either score or create a goal once every 165 minutes.
While Del Piero is clearly coming to the end of his career, Di Natale seems to be enjoying a prolonged Indian summer, winning the Capocannoniere title in each of the last two seasons and netting 57 goals in the process. His own strike rate last year equated to a goal every 105 minutes.
Neither man is known for an intense work-rate when his team is not in possession as 16 tackles between them during last season clearly shows. Di Natale is seen as more of a classic striker, but he completed 74.4% of the 840 passes he attempted and recorded seven assists - the majority of which were to the now departed Alexis Sánchez. Del Piero is more of a second striker, not quite a play-maker but much more involved in his teams play, himself completing an impressive 78.24% of the 648 passes he attempted.
Standing in the way of these two talismanic figures are two very different but capable goalkeepers. While Juve's Gigi Buffon needs no introduction, Udinese's Slovenian Number one Samir Handanovič is far less well known, but last season equalled a 62-year-old league record as he saved six penalties.
In a season beset by injury issues - as he recovered from back surgery - Buffon made just 16 starts, conceding a goal every 80.1 minutes while the Udinese man played 35 times, beaten once every 78.75 minutes he played. Buffon also, thanks to Gigi Delneri's ultra-cautious approach, made just 40 saves (one every 34.05 minutes) in stark contrast with Udinese's more open style that saw Handanovič make 107 stops, one every 29.44 minutes.
With Sanchez now at Barcelona, Alessandro Matri of Juve and Udinese's Antonio Floro Flores both expected to miss the game through injury, it may fall to one of these four men to get his team off to a winning start. Udinese reached the Champions League places last season, a position that is seemingly the bare minimum for Antonio Conte's new-look team. Which Bianconeri will triumph at the Friuli stadium?
