Our prediction for this Serie B match:
Following a 2-0 loss to Modena, Cagliari will look to get back on course when they take on Benevento in the Serie B round 24. The Rossoblu aim climb to the playoffs berth, and they are likely to adopt an attack-minded approach in Saturday’s clash. Midfieler Marko Rog serves a one-game ban following his sending off at the weekend, while all Goldaniga, Deiola, Di Pardo, Nandez, Viola, and Pavoletti remain in the recovery room.
The Gli Stregoni, on the other hand, are running down a blind alley, with the team extending their losing run to three games against Venezia. Since Benevento are low on spirits, we are tempted to put our money on Cagliari, who are eyeing promotion to the Serie A. To make things even worse for the visiting side, both Schiattarella and Viviani are banned for the match, while Letizia misses out through injury.
Highlighted Player (Gianluca Lapadula):
Gianluca Lapadula, also known as Lapagol, due to his goalscoring abilities, was born in Turin and started his career at Juventus youth team, but was released because he wasn’t doing well in his studies. After the departure with Juventus, Lapadula perfected his goalscoring skills in lower Italian leagues and even spent one year in NK Gorica, Slovenia.
During his spell in Ravenna, he managed to finish the season 2012/13 as the top scorer in the group, netting 24 goals in the process. For a long period of time, the 28-year-old was Parma’s player, but he went on loans often, and, after Parma went bankrupt, Lapagol moved to Pescara. With 30 goals in 43 appearances, the striker caught the eye of Serie A giant Milan. He netted his first goal for the Rossoneri only three minutes after he came on as a substitute.
The following season Lapagol became the striker of Genoa. Even though he was called to play for Peru, the Genoa hitman decided to represent Italy, getting his first call to the senior squad in November 2016. However, he never made an official appearance for Italy, since he only played an unofficial friendly against San Marino, when he scored a hat-trick.
Highlighted Team (Benevento):
FC Benevento secured promotion to the Serie A for the first time in their history at the end of the 2016/2017 campaign, but it has to be noted that they finished the regular season in 5th place in the standings. The Stregoni (Witches) did well to beat Perugia and Carpi in the promotion play-offs and, as a result, they are going to taste a top-flight football.
Benevento were founded in 1929 as Associazione Calcio Benevento and back then they played their home games at Meomartini, the venue which was built by Ciccio Minocchia. Nowadays, the Stregoni welcome their rivals at Stadio Giro Vigorito and the capacity of the stadium is 12.847. Benevento are well known for their yellow jerseys with red stripes, whilst they wear white shirts and white shorts when playing on the travels.
After Napoli, Salernitana and Avellino Benevento become the fourth club from Campania to compete in the Serie A. Matches between the aforementioned teams are well known as Campania derbies.