Relegation-doomed Cremonese will be looking to enhance their fading hopes of Serie A survival when they welcome Bologna to Stadio Giovanni Zini on Saturday afternoon.
With three matches remaining to save their season, Cremonese find themselves second from bottom in the table – six points inside the drop zone – meaning they must find at least two wins while hoping results elsewhere go their way.
It is worth remembering that Cremonese failed to win any of their opening 23 Serie A games this season, suffering 14 defeats in the process, with Davide Ballardini replacing Massimiliano Alvini in mid-January.
The new manager finally led the Tigers to their first victory of the campaign on February 28, as they claimed a shock 2-1 win over Jose Mourinho’s Roma. Since then, Cremonese have managed to pick up three wins and three draws in 11 outings, but they will struggle to recover from their failures earlier in the season.
Despite a recent three-game unbeaten run, which included 1-1 draws with Hellas Verona and AC Milan, as well as a 2-0 victory over relegation rivals Spezia, the Lombardy outfit have left themselves with a mountain to climb.
That said, Cremonese can take confidence from Bologna’s recent struggles, as Thiago Motta’s men have failed to win any of their past six league outings, recording four draws and two losses along the way.
When you look at the bigger picture, the Greyhounds have won just two of their previous 11 Serie A matches, although they did manage to take points off Lazio, Milan, Atalanta, Juventus and Roma during that period.
On top of that, Bologna have found the back of the net in eight of their last nine away league games, scoring at least two goals on five occasions in that time, so Cremonese will likely find it difficult to keep a clean sheet on Saturday.
Interestingly, Cremonese and Bologna have drawn each of their previous three league meetings, with a 1-1 draw coming in the reverse fixture at Stadio Renato Dall’Ara back in January. The Greyhounds dominated the previous encounter, though, racking up 69% possession and 21 shots on home soil.
The hosts look set to be without injured forwards Cyriel Dessers and Frank Tsadjout for Saturday’s clash, so top scorer David Okereke will continue to lead the line, having netted nine goals across all competitions this season.
The visitors, on the other hand, will travel to Lombardy without the injured trio of Jhon Lucumi, Adama Soumaoro and Roberto Soriano, while Nicola Sansone and Giorgos Kyriakopoulos are doubts for this weekend.
Expert Insight: While Cremonese have given themselves an outside chance of beating the drop – winning two and drawing two of their last seven games – Bologna have failed to win any of their previous six matches and appear to have settled for mid-table safety. Accordingly, the hosts are expected to pick up a positive result on Saturday, although they may have to settle for a draw.
Serie A