Our prediction for this Serie B match:
High-flying Parma will look to cement top position in the Serie B standings when they face Lecco on Sunday afternoon. The league leaders are eyeing their fourth consecutive win and seeing that Fabio Pecchia can count on key players for this encounter. Lautaro Valenti remains on the sidelines with an ACL injury, while both Roberto Inglese and Anthony Paripilo are major doubts and the duo will be assessed ahead of the kick-off.
Lecco, on the other hand, aim to extend their unbeaten run to five games, but they will have a mountain to climb against Parma, who are seen as one of the main favourites for automatic promotion. To make things even worse for the home side, midfielder Giovanni Crociata is out of contention through suspension. It has to be noted the two sides meet for the first time ever in the Italian second tier.
Highlighted Team (Parma):
Founded in 1913, Parma is considered one of the most famous Italian clubs. The Gialloblu play home games in white shirts with a dark blue cross and dark blue shorts. Speaking of their away colours, Parma footballers wear yellow-blue kits on the travels. Parma have yet to win the Serie A trophy, but they did well to lift the UEFA Cup trophy on two occasions (1994/1995, 1998/1999).
To make things even better for Parma fans, the Gialloblu won the European Cup Winners’ Cup in the 1992/1993 season, with the team beating Royal Antwerp in the title game 3-1. A number of top-class footballers played for Parma in the past: Hernan Crespo, Roberto Mancini, Juan Veron, Roberto Mancini, Dino Baggio, Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon.
The Gialloblu welcome their rivals at Stadio Ennio Tardini, which was opened in 1923. The venue can hold up to 27,906 spectators. Bologna are considered Parma’s biggest rivals and there have always been fireworks in matches between the two sides.