Sports Mole previews Monday’s Serie A clash between Cremonese and Udinese, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Seeking their first Serie A win at Stadio Zini, Udinese will visit Cremonese on Monday evening.
The Bianconeri trail their hosts by one point after six matches, so victory would also lift them above the newly promoted Grigiorossi.
Match preview
Trailing after less than six minutes – and four down by the hour mark – Cremonese’s last outing before the international break saw them totally dominated by Inter Milan.
Though Federico Bonazzoli scored his second goal of the season – both arriving at San Siro – the Grigiorossi were beaten 4-1 by their Lombardy rivals, ending an unbeaten start to their comeback campaign.
Head coach Davide Nicola clearly has issues to fix at both ends, as his team faced the most shots (107) and attempted the fewest (35) during the opening six matchdays.
Nonetheless, Cremonese have still made their best-ever start to a Serie A season, picking up nine points and remaining unbeaten on home turf.
A well-travelled survival specialist, Nicola now meets one of his many former clubs, having had a brief spell in charge of Udinese seven years ago.
This week, history will be firmly on his current team’s side: in 21 previous meetings at Stadio Zini, Cremonese have only suffered three defeats.
Indeed, Udinese last won in Cremona some 35 years ago, when the clubs clashed in Serie B – they have failed to taste success from five attempts at Italy’s top level.
The Bianconeri will be keen to end that wait on Monday, having picked up just one point from their last three league matches before the break.
Beaten 3-0 by AC Milan and 3-1 by Sassuolo, they then drew 1-1 at home to Cagliari, with Christian Kabasele‘s flicked finish averting another defeat.
Still seeking their first Serie A home win of the season, Kosta Runjaic‘s men sit inside the bottom half of the standings.
The only good news of late came from their Coppa Italia victory over Palermo, which set up an enticing last-16 contest with Juventus in December.
So, while Runjaic has plenty of credit in the bank from an impressive first year, fans of the Fruilani will demand improvement sooner rather than later.
Cremonese Serie A form:
W W D D D L
Cremonese form (all competitions):
W W D D D L
Udinese Serie A form:
D W W L L D
Udinese form (all competitions):
W W L W L D
Team News
Though Bonazzoli found the net last time out – and has previously scored two Serie A goals against Udinese – Cremo coach Nicola is pondering whether to hand Jamie Vardy his long-awaited first start.
The English striker, who has only made two cameo appearances so far, is also vying with Antonio Sanabria, Dennis Johnsen and Franco Vazquez for selection up front.
During the international window, first-choice goalkeeper Emil Audero and Milan loanee Filippo Terracciano returned to full training, so only Michele Collocolo and Faris Moumbagna are still on the sidelines.
Udinese also have their number one back in the fold, but it remains to be seen whether Maduka Okoye immediately replaces Razvan Sava after completing a ban for illegal betting.
Furthermore, fit-again Adam Buksa can rejoin the visitors’ squad on Monday; fellow forward Iker Bravo is available after representing Spain at the Under-20 World Cup.
Following his crucial goal against Cagliari, Kabasele could continue to deputise for the injured Thomas Kristensen in central defence.
Cremonese possible starting lineup:
Audero; Terracciano, Baschirotto, Bianchetti; Zerbin, Grassi, Bondo, Vandeputte, Pezzella; Vazquez, Vardy
Udinese possible starting lineup:
Okoye; Goglichidze, Kabasele, Solet; Zanoli, Piotrowski, Karlstrom, Atta, Kamara; Zaniolo, Davis
We say: Cremonese 2-2 Udinese
Udinese have been a little leaky at the back, while Cremonese can call upon several experienced forwards who could punish them.
Both teams will be targeting three points from a relatively winnable fixture, but it may end up with the spoils being shared.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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