CUNEO - GROTTAZZOLINA

On Sunday, March 19th, the twenty-fourth day of the A2 men's championship will take place. Cuneo and Grottazzolina, three rounds away from the end of the regular season, will face each other in a crucial match for both teams in view of the playoffs. The hosts come from a rather turbulent moment, with 0 points in the last four matches, with Santangelo/Parodi, the usual starters, on the bench in the last match played (a 3-0 loss to Castelana), and the consequent sacking of coach Piemontese. In Sunday's match, Cuneo should play with the classic startine six, with Padron in diagonal with Santangelo and Parodi in position four. The opportunity for Cuneo, and especially for the opposite and spiker, is to reverse the trend, stay focused on the playoffs goal set at the beginning of the season, and bring back three crucial points that would give morale in a super tense moment like the current one. The teams are currently both at 31 points, just 3 away from the last position for the promotion phase. Grottazzolina arrives at the match with more reassuring precedents; three wins in the last five matches, despite the ugly 3-0 home defeat last Sunday. However, the statistics reveal another important aspect in favor of the home team, if we look at the performance of the two teams away and at home. Cuneo has lost only 2 out of 11 home matches played, while Grottazzolina has lost as many as 8 out of 12 away matches! This, combined with the importance for Cuneo to win this match and get back in the race for the team's objectives, makes us lean towards the hosts. Finally, we believe the Piedmontese team is more "mature" and has something more to prove compared to the Marche team.