Modena vs Cittadella: Third match in a week for the Granata

MATCH: Modena vs Cittadella | Serie BKT Matchday 4

DATE: August 31, 2024 | 20:30 local (2:30pm EST)

VENUE: Stadio Alberto Braglia | Modena

Cittadella travel to the Stadio Alberto Braglia to face Modena on Saturday night in their third match of the week.

The Granata are coming off a road victory last weekend in Brescia, followed by a draw in the home opener against Pisa. Modena snatched a late draw in Frosinone on Tuesday while getting a home win against Bari last Friday.

The result against Pisa could still be in jeopardy. The Tuscan club has appealed that Cittadella fielded an ineligible player that did not appear on the official match squad, jeopardizing the final result of the match. Pisa could earn an automatic 3-0 victory if their appeal is won.

“We are very calm,” Cittadella head coach Edoardo Gorini said in his pre-match press conference about the appeal. “There was a hidden error and we did everything that we could’ve done during the game. It was a naive mistake but it’s understandable.”

The Granata will be looking to focus on the weekend’s clash against Modena, which will be 26th all-time meeting between the two clubs. Cittadella has not beaten Modena in their last 11 games, with their last victory against I Canarini coming in 2011.

Modena are looking to improve from a 10th place finish last season. Head coach Pierpaolo Bisoli will be coaching against Cittadella for the 18th time in his career, looking to build from a win and a draw in the past week.

“Cittadella is a very uncomfortable opponent to face, especially at this stage of the season,” Bisoli said in his press conference. “They have the merit of having built a very strong identity in these years that they continue to carry forward.”

Ex-Serie A veteran striker Gregoire Defrel scored his first goal for the club in the 93rd minute against Frosinone on Tuesday. The striker spent his last five seasons at Sassuolo before making the move to the Stadio Alberto Braglia. Portuguese striker Pedro Mendes has also joined Modena after an 11-goal campaign last season at Ascoli.

Cittadella will be without starting goalkeeper Elhan Kastrati, who will be missing the match due to a late injury picked up midweek. Right back Alessandro Salvi will also miss the match due to fatigue, Gorini confirmed in his conference.

“We are going to the ‘Braglia’ with the goal to win,” Gorini said. “It’s always a complicated match against Bisoli. It’s the third match of a week for both teams, so we need to be good at what we do, and I need to do well on who I select.”

PHOTO: Massimo Felicetti