Cittadella seeks to break Tombolato curse in huge Carrarese six-pointer

On March 15, Cittadella suffered its fifth straight defeat at the Stadio Piercesare Tombolato going into the international break. The loss broke a club record for most consecutive Serie B home losses.

Now, the first of four remaining home games for Cittadella begins Saturday afternoon as the Granata host Carrarese at the Tombolato for the first time in the Serie B regular season.

It’s one of the half-dozen relegation six-pointers Cittadella will play until the end of the campaign. After Saturday, the Granata‘s next three games are against teams below them in the standings (Sampdoria, Salernitana, Reggiana).

Cittadella head coach Alessandro Dal Canto knows there’s little room for error approaching the tale end of the season. The club sits one point above the relegation play-out zone entering the weekend.

“The games are delicate now and they live on episodes,” Dal Canto said in his prematch press conference. “We need to stay focused and know the game will give us difficulties. We have to be good at overcoming those difficulties in a different way than we did against Cremonese.”

Dal Canto was only the head coach of Cittadella for 12 days the last time both clubs met. Carrarese netted three goals in the first half to hand the Venetian side its fifth loss of the season at the Stadio dei Marmi.

However, Dal Canto expected a much different game compared to the October defeat.

“Everything has changed in respect to the reverse fixture,” he said. “For the simple reason that there’s fewer games remaining. Now the points are milestones and the games live on balance and the key moments.”

Citta start the weekend with one win in their last six games. The team looked to get an eighth road win last Saturday, but two second half goals in two minutes saw the Granata surrender a 2-0 lead to draw Cremonese. The result put Dal Canto’s side on 34 points, one point above the relegation zones.

Carrarese, meanwhile, will be looking to get its first road victory since Oct. 5 against Frosinone. Nicola Antonio Calabro’s side broke a four game winless run on Sunday, rallying from behind to beat Bari at home. However, after sitting inside the promotion play-off zone entering the new year, the Giallazzurri have collected just nine points since Matchday 21: the third lowest in Serie B.

Another problem for Calabro’s side is playing away from Carrara. On its travels, Carrarese holds the joint-worst road record in the league, going 1-5-9 this season. But Saturday may be the best opportunity to break it, with Cittadella accumulating only 11 points at the Tombolato this season and currently enduring a five game losing streak at home.

Saturday could be decisive in each team’s respective survival dreams. A win for Carrarese would put the newly promoted side a step closer to achieving safety. A win for Cittadella, meanwhile, would be the sixth all-time victory against Carrarese, but more importantly, would give Dal Canto’s side new life in the relegation battle.

“We have never played down the value of a match,” Dal Canto said. “We also know we’ve missed opportunities when we were bound (to get a result). We have six relegation six-pointers left and we need to bring home anything we can.”

MATCH: Cittadella vs Carrarese – Serie BKT Matchday 32

DATE: April 5, 2025 – 15:00 CET (9:00 EST)

VENUE: Stadio Piercesare Tombolato – Cittadella

TOP PHOTO: Massimo Felicetti / A.S. Cittadella