Sunday’s Opponents: Pescara

Massimo Oddo probably wouldn’t have expected Gianluca Lapadula to leave after he was the hero of Pescara’s promotion campaign. Without their talisman from last season, the club have not been able to pull themselves out from the bottom three. The coach from Abruzzo had hoped that the attractive style of play under him would be enough to allow the club to put up a brave resistance but it’s not turned out that way. Pescara have played some good stuff but without winning matches and their only three points came via a technicality as they were awarded a walkover when Sassuolo fielded an ineligible player. They’ve been fragile at the back with 29 goals conceded which is the fourth worst total in the league and 16 of them have come in the final 30 minutes of matches. In the last eight, they lost seven in a row and the only point they picked up was in a draw against Cagliari.

In terms of cutting edge, Gianluca Caprari is the main threat with the side lacking a traditional centre-forward. He’s energetic and dangerous from long range (52 shots and three goals) and he looks to have a bright future. Without their talisman from last year in Serie B, the Biancazzurri haven’t been able to replace his attacking threat with Simone Pepe, Rey Menaj, Simone Pepe, Alexandru Mitrita and Stefano Pettinari. Ahamd Benali has been a bright light with his dynamism and attacking threat between the lines while the veteran Albano Bizzarri has made some important saves. The rest of the squad has not been able to do much. Jean-Christophe Bahebeck looked promising before becoming injured, while the flexible Francesco Zampano has been more effective going forward with four assists than in his defensive contribution. In midfield, the captain Ledian Memushaj has had some difficulty from the penalty spot while Gaston Brugman has been inconsistent.