Strugglers Parma and Cesena meet on Sunday afternoon at the Stadio Ennio Tardini in a crucial Serie A relegation clash.
Hosts Parma have endured an awful campaign thus far, with a loss to Sampdoria the latest in a long line of setbacks.
Cesena are joint on points with their bottom-of-the-table companions and without a league victory since the opening day of the campaign, while their last outing saw Torino narrowly overcome them by the odd goal in five.
The reverse fixture between the two sides at the beginning of the season brought about a 1-0 win for Cesena, who have since drawn six matches and suffered 12 losses following promotion from Serie B.
Season 2011-12 was the last campaign in which the duo featured together in the top-flight of Italian football, with Parma taking all three points at the Ennio Tardini and the spoils shared in a two-all draw on Cesena’s home patch.
Looking at recent form, Parma have won just once in their last six matches, with one draw also achieved in that period.
New Cesena head coach Domenico Di Carlo has so far failed to inspire a turnaround in fortunes since his December arrival, having managed only one draw and four defeats in his five games in charge following the defeat to Atalanta on December 7 that prompted his appointment.
Parma supremo Roberto Donadoni will be unable to call upon defender Alessandro Lucarelli through suspension, while Ishak Belfodil and Afriyie Acquah are both away on international duty.
There’s some concern over the fitness of Jonathan Biabany, Abdelkader Ghezzal and Cristobal Jorquera, while longer-term injury victims Andi Lila and Massimo Coda won’t return for at least two months.
This week’s new additions Cristian Rodriguez and Silvestre Varela come into contention, but may have to settle for spots on the bench.
Cesena midfielder Andrea Tabanelli and forward Davide Succi are both injury doubts and will require valuation, but Guido Marilungo, Luigi Giorgi and Luca Valzania definitely miss out. Suspended midfield man Giuseppe De Feudis is also unavailable for selection due to a one-match ban.
Portuguese striker Hugo Almeida is no longer with Cesena having been released at the beginning of this week by mutual consent. He’s unlikely to be missed, as he didn’t manage to hit the back of the net even once throughout his ten appearances for the club.
Form Guide: Parma (L-D-L-W-L-L) Cesena (L-L-D-L-L-L)
Expected Starting XIs
Parma: Mirante; Costa, Paletta, Felipe; Cassani, J. Mauri, Lodi, Nocerino, Gobbi; Cassano, Palladino
Cesena: Leali; Perico, Lucchini, Magnusson, Renzetti; Carbonero, Cascione, Ze Eduardo; Brienza; Defrel, Djuric
