Cittadella begins new year against struggling Cesena
On January 11, 2025 by Jake IovineMATCH: Cesena vs Cittadella | Serie BKT Matchday 21
DATE: Jan. 12, 2025 | 17:15 CET (11:15 a.m. EST)
VENUE: Orogel Stadium | Cesena
Four weeks ago, Cittadella sat bottom of Serie B after a 3-5-9 start to its season. Cesena, meanwhile, soared to fifth in the league following a seventh win of the campaign.
A month later, the two sides are within five places of each other, separated by only two points.
The Granata open the new year in Cesena on Sunday afternoon at the Orogel Stadium, with the Granata looking to continue their December form of three straight wins.
Cesena will look to snap a three game losing streak in Serie B which has seen the Seahorses drop outside the playoff positions. This run of results, however, does not bother Cittadella head coach Alessandro Dal Canto, whose team can jump above Cesena in the standings with a win on Sunday.
“There’s always a moment in a season where things go right and things go wrong: Sunday is a difficult match,” Dal Canto said in his prematch press conference. “[Cesena] is struggling recently so their concentration is high. We have to at least be on the same level as them and play with our qualities.”
Part of Cesena’s poor form, which has seen the club lose five out of the last six league outings, could be due to the injury of Serie B Golden Boot leader Cristian Shpendi. The 21-year-old striker, who has scored 10 goals this season, is expected to make his return on Sunday after a month absence.
“I don’t like predicting who’ll be playing [for Cesena] or not,” Dal Canto said. “Sometimes the person who takes the place of a starter is the one who makes the difference. This is how the sport works.”
Michele Mignani’s men defeated Cittadella in November to claim their first road victory of the season. Cesena is proven to be hard to beat at the Orogel Stadium, going 6-2-2 in ten home games since August.
Despite only scoring nine goals on the road this season, Cittadella has tallied 12 points on its travels: the eight best away record in Serie B.
Dal Canto knows a victory would go a long way in the season. The Cittadella boss, however, knows the season is still long and that the Granata have not accomplish anything yet despite their recent success.
“We haven’t solved any problems yet,” he said. “Serie B doesn’t give you room to rest. We were bottom before the three straight victories and we would be stupid to give up now that we are starting to see light again.”
“This season is an unknown. We are only thinking about facing Cesena at our best.”
PHOTO: Massimo Felicetti/A.S. Cittadella