Cittadella face Vicenza in a huge season opener

The moment every Cittadella supporter has been waiting for is finally upon us.

Kicking off the 2021/22 Serie B season, Cittadella begin their Serie A fightback tomorrow against Veneto rivals Vicenza. The game is set for Saturday, August 21st at the Stadio Piercesare Tombolato at 2:30pm EST. Half capacity is allowed inside as well as away fans in the north end.

After a hard fought win over Monza last weekend, the Granata look to do more of the same against an exciting Vicenza side, who over the summer window bought former Cittadella striker Davide Diaw, but also starting midfielder Federico Proia. Making the short journey eastbound, Vicenza are looking to spoil the party at the Tombolato. They are also seeking to bounce back from a difficult 4-2 loss to Empoli in the Coppa Italia last week.

For Cittadella, though, a win would certainly give a significant boost to start their campaign. It was a long summer dealing with the emptiness of the promotion final. A lot of changes on and off the field is making the question beg, how will Cittadella look in this new era?

This will be Edoardo Gorini’s first league match in charge since Venturato announced his departure. It will also be the first match without club idol Manuel Iori. With already a confidence boosting win over Monza last week, the team is hopefully feeling good about tomorrow’s match.

Two players will be out for the Granata for the match, with those two being Luigi Cuppone and Giacomo Beretta. Cuppone is still out for a training injury last week, and Beretta also has an adductor problem. Here is my projected lineup for tomorrow.

4-3-1-2

Kastrati; Donnarumma-Adorni-Frare-Cassandro; Branca-Danzi-Gargiulo; Baldini; Tounkara-Okwonkwo

Okwonkwo, who picked up an injury mid game last week, is available for tomorrow. His fitness status is unknown, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Antonucci starts ahead of him, with Orji coming in the second half.

One thing that was noticeable in the Monza match is the defense shakiness. The Cittadella backline gave up some great chances in which Monza couldn’t make the most of them. Defense is one area where Citta must be careful against the likes of Diaw and Proia.

A statement could be made by either teams. Cittadella need to get going on the front foot, as they have a difficult upcoming schedule. Vicenza on the other hand would be pumped if they could go into the Tombolato and walk away with all three points. Cittadella will most likely have a bigger crowd as night time temperatures should be cooling down. A big three points are up for grabs for two promotion seeking teams.

For this match I will predict a 2-1 win for the Granata. Mamadou Tounkara will continue his fine start to the season and score the first, with Enrico Baldini following to get the second goal and all three points to Cittadella.