Why Cittadella’s match against Perugia is almost a “must-win”.

Only nine games remain in this competitive Serie B season, and the job is still far from over for Cittadella.

The Granata currently sit in 14th place with 35 points, and have a five point lead over the nearest team in the relegation zone: Venezia, who are on 30 points. Both the 16th and 17th placed teams enter a relegation play-out to determine the fourth team relegated to Serie C, while 18th, 19th, and 20th go straight down.

Historically, a 40 point total at the end of the season should get you to safety. However, this season is shaping up to be different, as Cittadella will likely need more than that to ensure a spot in next years Serie B season. A 46 point total will be the absolute safety mark, while 43-45 points could be enough.

That leaves us to today, where Cittadella likely needs about 10 more points from their remaining nine fixtures. Their next opponents Perugia–who have a game in hand due to their postponement on the weekend–sit five points behind the Granata in 15th.

A win for Cittadella against the Umbrians will go a long way to ensuring safety. First of all, a win by Edoardo Gorini’s side will put Cittadella at least eight points clear of their relegation rivals and quite possibly the play-out zone if results go their way. A win, or even a draw, would also give the Granata the head-to-head tiebreaker over Perugia, following their 0-2 win in Umbria earlier in the season.

A win would give Cittadella a massive boost going into the home stretch of the season. It’s a golden opportunity to break away further from the drop zone, and it’s another great chance at three points.

However, if Gorini’s side manage to lose on Saturday, things could look dicey. Cittadella’s remaining schedule is as follows: Perugia (H), Modena (A), Parma (H), Cosenza (A), Genoa (H), Bari (A), Benevento (H), Südtirol (A), Como (H).

The final run-in is not so straight forward, as the club still needs to play the likes of promotion contenders Genoa, Bari, Südtirol, and Parma. They also still need to take care of business against the teams below them such as Como, Cosenza, and Benevento, who will all be fighting to survive.

If Cittadella can’t get the job done against Perugia on Saturday, things begin to look complicated for Gorini and co going into the final months of the season.

It’s simple: a win against Perugia will put you on the brink of safety. Any else will make Cittadella fans more on edge until the end of the season.

Top Photo: Massimo Felicetti