Catanzaro – FeralpiSalò

Italy – Serie B, day 10. Saturday

21/10/23, h16:15 

Two big wins on the road (1-0 at Sudtirol's, 2-1 at Sampdoria's) and Catanzaro took back their brilliant path towards the very first positions of Serie B. For a newly promoted team, 18 points in 9 games are just beyond any expectation: much of the credit to coach Vivarini, who managed to bring one category above his football concept made of territorial dominance and aggressiveness - which worked perfectly last year in Serie C. Today Catanzaro are confident, efficient in attack (second-best for goals scored, 15) and have been lately developing a solid mindset that can furtherly upgrade the club's ambitions. With some shining talent too: Jari Vandeputte (3 goals and 2 assists as a midfielder) is probably playing the best season of his career. 

After an early phase of struggle, FeralpiSalò's championship actually started one month ago: 8 points in 6 games since then. A trend that, if mantained til the end of the season, would mean safe salvation: Feralpi cannot ask for more and finally seem to be ready to fight in this Serie B. The team, technically, is still widely below the average level; however, they compensate with a tactical organization impeccably directed by coach Vecchi. And if La Mantia keeps scoring (2 so far), Feralpi may even solve their huge problem in front of the goal (0,5 per game). 

Catanzaro-FeralpiSalò is a first ever at this level, but the two teams faced each other last April for the Serie C Supercup: on that occasion, the home team prevailed 2-1. Again, Catanzaro are favorite as much as what raw numbers suggest (4th vs 18th). And be ready for a high-scoring match: on Saturday at Stadio Ceravolo, the two worse defenses of the league (29 goals conceded in total) are facing each other.