Catania coach Luigi De Canio has been in charge of the club for three games. He’s earned just one draw, against Sassuolo, in that short span. However, his squad has been plagued with injuries and suspensions since his arrival.
Nicolas Spolli, the team’s best defender, is still out with injury, along with Fabian Monzon and Giuseppe Bellusci. Pablo Barrientos and Gonzalo Bergessio, who are crucial parts of the attack, are also unavailable. In total, there are eight players that most likely play a part in the match against Udinese.
The saving grace is that the upcoming game is at home, where Catania have won all six of their points. They’ve struggled mightily away from the Massimino, losing all six of their matches on the road, and have been outscored 15-4 in doing so. At home, the Rossazzurri have just one loss, allowing just four goals, but have bagged just three of their own.
Nonetheless, it’s a magnificent chance for the Elefanti to earn just their second victory of the season. Besides the fact that they’re at home, they also face an opponent in Udinese that have started their campaign slowly. The Zebrette are 10th in Serie A with 13 points, and are without Antonio Di Natale.
The Bianconeri are also poor away from home, they have just one win in five, losing the other four. The fact that Catania are three points away from safety, they desperately need a victory. That could be enough to get them out of danger, assuming Sassuolo and Sampdoria don’t get a result.
It’ll still be a hotly contested affair as Catania are missing half of their regular starters. De Canio will most likely field a 4-4-1-1 as he used five midfielders against Napoli in a losing effort. Lucas Castro will be key up front, as he’s the club’s leading goalscorer right now, due to Barrientos’ injury.
The defence will also be integral, as they were torn apart by the Partenopei in the last match. Eventually, the back line settled, but still conceded a few too many shots, mainly to Gonzalo Higuain, who was inaccurate all night, fortunately for Catania.
Statistically, the defence has performed better than the attack, but they’ve made mistakes at the worst times. The players at the back push up to help, then they get exposed on the counter and dig a deeper hole for themselves. They must maintain their focus, or else they’ll be in the same situation they always seem to find themselves in.
If the Rossazzurri fail to win, it’ll be around a third of the way into the season, and the Etnei will still be in the relegation zone. They have the joint-worst attack with seven goals, and their defence is ranked 12th in goals conceded. After 12 rounds in the 2012/13 campaign, Catania were eighth with 16 points. They were just six back of a European spot.
On top of that, the Etnei conceded the fifth fewest amount of goals and were mid-table in scoring after 12 games last season. What a difference a year makes.
