Cittadella vs Ternana | All you need to know.
On April 1, 2022 by Jake IovineThe final seven games in Serie B begin on Saturday. Cittadella has two home matches in the next few days, which will decide the season.
We are back from the international break, and there’s lots to cover since Cittadella’s last match against Pisa.
Lots of drama has happened in the last week and a half. Italy crashed out of the World Cup Qualifying cycle after a colossal loss to North Macedonia in Palermo. This sees the Azzurri miss out on back-to-back World Cups.
Meanwhile on the other side of the world, the United States are back on the world stage after qualifying on the last day in Costa Rica. They’ve been drawn into Group B with Euro 2020 finalists England, Iran, and the UEFA playoff winner between Ukraine, Scotland, and Wales.
The excitement for the World Cup in November has brought a lot of our attention to international football. But now it’s time to shift back into domestic league gear. Cittadella are winless and struggling for goals in their last five games, and now risk missing out on the promotion playoffs. They need something from their next two games, starting with Ternana on Saturday.
It’s been a while, so let’s get caught up on both teams.
Cittadella
Things must start to get better immediately for Cittadella, and are facing two must win games at home in the next five days.
The international break hopefully has helped the Granata refocus and get back into the right mind heading into the home stretch. Winless in the month of March, head coach Edoardo Gorini is hoping to set his team right entering a crucial part of the season.
The attack has been an issue over the past few games. Without forwards Orji Okwonkwo and Mamadou Tounkara–both out for a big part of the remaining season–Cittadella have struggled scoring goals and getting wins. The lone striker of Giacomo Beretta is not enough for the goal supply, which has been decreasing last month.
In fact, the last time Cittadella scored a goal from open play came on February 27th, in a 3-0 win against Frosinone. That also happened to be the last time Gorini’s men won a match. The goal scoring problem must be resolved if the Granata want to make a final playoff push.
That playoff run has to start immediately. With seven games left, Cittadella sit five points behind 8th place Ascoli. Cittadella still have to play Perugia and Ascoli, both are above them in the standings.
Ternana
It’s a little crazy to think Ternana could jump ahead of Cittadella with a win at the Tombolato.
Yet, when you look at the job that Cristiano Lucarelli has done, from getting them promoted to Serie B and having a comfortable cushion above relegation, Ternana has been more than impressive this year.
Even while avoiding relegation, the Rossoaverdi can still dream of slipping into a playoff spot. Though a long shot, a win against Cittadella will put them ahead of the Granata, and won’t be largely far off promotion.
Top scorer Alfredo Donnarumma has been a key player for Ternana this year, bagging 10 goals since joining last summer. Midfielder Anthony Partipilo has also been one of Ternana’s main engine’s all year, having 17 goal involvement in 23 starts. Both of these attackers are available for Saturday’s clash.
Ternana are not mathematically safe from relegation, but excluding a massive breakdown in the final stretch, they’ll be safe. Like said earlier, a win on Saturday could bring a late push for playoffs, as Lucarelli’s side plan ahead on next year as well.