New Catania coach Luigi De Canio’s first two matches haven’t delivered positive results. The Rossazzurri drew 0-0 with Sassuolo, then followed that up with a 4-0 defeat to Juventus in midweek.
However, the former Udinese boss couldn’t field a full squad. The entire starting defence, including the likes of Nicolas Spolli, were all out with injuries or suspensions. To make matters worse, Tiberio Guarente’s sending off versus Juve means that he’s unavailable for the Napoli match.
The news worsened on Thursday. It was confirmed that striker Gonzalo Bergessio will be out for the next two months due to a fractured fibula. The injury was suffered after a Giorgio Chiellini challenge on Wednesday.
Now the Italian tactician has to rotate his squad yet again. The match-up obviously doesn’t get any easier, with the Partenopei welcoming the Elefanti to the San Paolo.
The Etnei will have eight absences on Saturday. The aforementioned Bergessio, Guarente and Spolli will be out, but so will Fabian Monzon, Pablo Barrientos, Jaroslav Plasil, Giuseppe Bellusci, and Kingsley Boateng. Three of them are defenders, three are forwards/wingers, and two make up the midfield.
All of that means that De Canio will have a challenge ahead of him. He switched to a back three against Juve in order to accommodate, but it clearly didn’t pay off. Thankfully, Pablo Alvarez and Nicola Legrottaglie are back. Alexis Rolin and Cristiano Biraghi will make up the left side of the back line most likely. Maxi Lopez is set to replace Bergessio, Keko will be flanking him on the left, with Lucas Castro on the right.
The midfield battle is the worry at this point. Mariano Izco, Panagiotis Tachtsidis, and Sergio Almiron are De Canio’s best options in the centre of the pitch, but it’s a very negative looking setup. All three players are destroyers, but it may be necessary to deploy a more defensive system considering Napoli are lethal up front and out wide.
Catania are just one of three teams to record just one win, with Sassuolo and Chievo being the other two. The similarity between all three of them is that they’re in the relegation zone. The Rossazzurri are 18th, three points behind a woeful Bologna, who also deserve to be at the bottom considering their early performances.
It may take a while for De Canio to get the club firing on all cylinders again, especially when all of these injuries seem to be building up at the worst time. Two of their next four opponents will be AC Milan and Roma, but the Italian should have all of his defenders back before both of those matches. That alone could be the saving grace, as individual mistakes at the back have killed the team this season.
Many have Catania picked as relegation candidates now that Rolando Maran is out, plus all of the injuries. However, with a few more weeks to tinker and a full, healthy squad, the 2013/14 season, and the club’s Serie A status, could be safe. A lower mid-table finish would be hailed as a success given all of the turmoil, but even 10th to 12th place is achievable.
Fans must remain patient. For a team that has been a surprise top five contender over the last couple of seasons, it’ll be tough for them to come to grips with what’s transpiring, but they should be celebrating significantly more wins very soon.
