Preview: Cittadella travels to Brescia with second place in sights

Cittadella can go within a point of second place on Friday night as the Granata travel to Lombardy to face Union Brescia.

With four games remaining in the regular season, the Granata play two against teams in the hunt for a top three finish in Girone A, starting with Brescia. A win at the Stadio Mario Rigamonti will move Manuel Iori’s side one point behind the Leonessa while also holding the head-to-head tiebreaker.

A victory could also see Cittadella leap into third place for the first time this season. After coming from behind to defeat Lecco last weekend, Iori’s men are within a point of the Blucelesti in third and own the tiebreaker.

However, a loss on Friday leaves the door open to Renate and Trento to leapfrog the Granata this weekend, potentially sending Iori’s team to sixth.

“This game has a playoff value,” Iori said in the prematch press conference. “We started behind in the standings and if we want to get more points, our head (mentality) is worth more than anything.”

Despite occupying second place since the first week of February, Brescia’s recent form has stalled and puts the club at risk of falling out of the top three. Eugenio Corini’s side is winless in the last five matches, having scored just once during that run.

However, the Leonessa recently drew against Vicenza on the road last Sunday to give them a four point lead over Cittadella going into Friday’s match.

“The atmosphere, value of the match and opponents makes sure that we are playing for something decisive,” Iori said on Friday being a preview of what’s to come in the promotion playoffs. “These are games where we have to be very good at understanding that we are facing a team that concedes few, has characteristics in some important players and was built to win the league.

“We know we’re going to a difficult place to play because it’s a direct clash.”

Defensively, the two teams are trending in different directions. While Brescia has conceded the fewest number of goals in Girone A alongside Vicenza (22), Cittadella has kept just one shutout since the start of the new year. The Granata also conceded the first goal in a match in four of their last five games – though Iori’s team tallied seven points from losing positions in those games.

Crucial league positioning will be at stake on Friday. At the end of the season, a second place finish in the standings guarantees a spot in the quarterfinals of the promotion playoffs. Teams who finish third and fourth will enter in the Round of 16 and Round of 32, respectively, while the fifth place team enters the first round in a one-off fixture.

Friday will also be Cittadella’s first visit to the Stadio Mario Rigamonti since August 2024. In their last seven trips to Brescia, the Granata took home two wins, four draws and only one loss.

MATCH: Union Brescia vs Cittadella | Serie C Sky Wifi Matchday 35

DATE: April 3, 2026 | 20:30 CET (2:30 p.m. EST)

VENUE: Stadio Mario Rigamonti | Brescia

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TOP PHOTO: Massimo Felicetti / A.S. Cittadella