Venezia hosts Cittadella in the second leg of the Italian Serie B playoffs final. The match will be played on Thursday, May 27th at Stadio Pierluigi Penzo (Venice)
Venezia is closer than ever to the long-awaited return to the top Italian division. In the quarterfinals of the playoffs, it gained a comeback victory over Chievo (3-2). Then the Winged Lions knocked out Lecce (2-1 on aggregate). And last Sunday they beat Cittadella away (0-1), and the victory was absolutely deserved. The visitors immediately seized the initiative, steadily increased pressure, and could open the scoring even before the break. Having scored at the beginning of the 2nd half, Venezia calmly kept a positive result, although there were several dangerous counterattacks (the hosts were lucky not to concede more).
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Cittadella could have been eliminated in the semifinals. At home, it managed to hammer Monza (3-0) in a fairly equal fight, but the Marrons almost squandered such an advantage away (2-0). Now their task is not to defend the advantage gained at home, but to win back. Sooner or later, Cittadella will have to open up and run forward with large forces. This will weaken the defense, which had been failing in away matches even before (only 21% of clean sheets, and it is the worst result among the representatives of the top half of the standings). Venezia will certainly take advantage of this.
According to the regulations, even a minimal victory is not enough for the visitors. The away goal rule does not apply to the final. A draw on the aggregate of both matches will bring the hosts to the elite, as they have earned more points during the main part of the season. This means that Cittadella needs to score at least twice. A team that has conceded in absolutely all away matches this spring is unlikely to interrupt a 3-month streak in such an uncomfortable situation. On the contrary, Cittadella will free up operational space for the opponent and allow it to easily create scoring chances. Venezia has scored at least two goals in most home matches since February. It managed to hit the net of Cittadella in each of the head-to-head meetings held in the current championship. The Winged Lions are not very effective in a positional attack but skillfully use counterattacks. And they can demonstrate it in a match against the opponent who has nothing to lose. The visitors may fall apart at the end, when they either give up or desperately rush to storm the opponent’s penalty area. The home team will score at least once in any of these scenarios.
Prediction for the match: Venezia to score over 1.0 goal
