Cittadella looking to start on a high against Monza

After 78 days of waiting and reliving the disappointment of the Venezia defeat, Cittadella are back at the Tombolato in their first competitive match of the season. The match is scheduled to be played on Saturday, August 14 at 12pm EST on Paramount Plus.

They will be up against Monza, who will have a chip on their shoulder after a sorrow semifinal defeat to the Granata in May. A hat trick by Enrico Baldini was too much to overcome as Silvio Berlusconi’s team failed to meet their Serie A objective. This will also be Monza’s first competitive matchup since Cittadella deafened them.

In the newly formatted Coppa Italia, the tournament will be consisted of Serie A and B teams. Arranged based on numbers, Cittadella were paired with Monza in the first round. The winner of this match will advance to Round Two where they will travel either to Pisa or Cagliari.

The Stadio Piercesare Tombolato, who has not seen fans since mid October of 2020 against Pordenone, will be half full for Saturday’s match as Covid restrictions ease. Fans in attendance must show their ‘Green Pass’ to enter and buy tickets. Masks will of course be in use for all. Also for the first time since early 2020, away fans are permitted to travel and sit in the away sector.

Cittadella are coming off a good preseason, having won the Steel Cup and going undefeated since starting in late July. The newest editions Simone Icardi and Vincenzo Ciriello will be seen for the first time. Luigi Cuppone will be out for this game, as he injured his right forearm ulna in training this week. Giacomo Beretta will also not be available tomorrow.

It will be interesting to see the lineup that Edorardo Gorini will put out, and what formation he will use. It will go down as the start of the new era under Gorini as it is his first competitive match as head coach since Venturato’s departure.

The most likely formation he will start is the 4-3-1-2, used a lot under Venturato and was used during their Steel Cup run. Depending on what Gorini wants to do, he might put out starters who will see the pitch a lot this season, or will give others the opportunity. It will be interesting to see if Gorini will put a lot of his focus on the Coppa Italia, or focus more on Serie B.

Here is my predicted lineup for the match:

4-3-1-2;

Maniero; Benedetti-Frare-Perticone-Cassandro;Branca-Danzi-D’Urso;Vita;Antonucci-Tounkara

I believe it is not our strongest eleven, as I think Baldini, Donnarumma, Adorni, and Gargiulo should be starters. However, you gotta remember it’s still early in Gorini’s coaching period. Give it some time, and he’ll figure out what suits best of him and the team.

It will definitely be decided on what lineup comes out. Which players will impress? Which ones look like starters? Monza will definitely also be trying out new things as well. The Coppa Italia will most likely not be prioritized for Cittadella, as the main focus has always been to get to Serie A. The attack will look different this year as lots of new players joined.

I believe this game will be taken to extra time at 1-1, with Monza winning 2-1 in a scrappy match. Alessio Vita will the goal for Cittadella, the first of the 2021/22 season.