Roma-Cremonese is a match valid for the round of 16 of the Coppa Italia and is played Wednesday at 9 p.m.: lineups, predictions, TV and streaming.
By a strange twist of fate it will again be Cremonese, for the second year in a row, trying to bar Jose Mourinho’s Roma in the Coppa Italia. Last February, the grigiorossi proved indigestible to the Capitolini, preventing Pellegrini and his teammates from joining Fiorentina in the semifinals after also knocking off Napoli in the previous round. Cremonese also got the better of the Giallorossi a few days later in the league, again with a 2-1 result.
A success that was not enough to avoid relegation: today the Lombardi are playing in the cadet series and dream of an immediate return to the top floor. However, they have proven to have a special feeling for the Coppa Italia: in the summer they won 3-1 over Crotone, while two months ago they needed extra time to solve the Cittadella practice (2-1). In the league, Cremonese ended the first half of the season in sixth place, just three points behind second place: the change of gear is evident after the arrival on the bench of Giovanni Stroppa, who took the place of Stefano Ballardini. However, there has been no shortage of setbacks in recent outings. The grigiorossi on Serie A’s Boxing Day cashed in on their second away defeat in a row, losing 3-2 in the Palermo clash. A sign that evidently there is still something to fix.
Mourinho can treat himself to another derby
Reduced from a defeat also Roma, which had to surrender to Juve last Saturday, losing yet another direct clash of the season: Rabiot’s goal (1-0) was decisive.
Mourinho’s team was overtaken by Atalanta, slipping to eighth place and with five points to make up on fourth-place Fiorentina. Away games remain one of the Giallorossi’s weaknesses — tenth-highest away performance in the league — as they continue to be inconsistent in terms of scoring and especially more fragile in defense than last year. The Portuguese coach, who in case of passage of the round will treat himself to an effervescent derby with Lazio, will not be able to count on N’Dicka, called up for the African Cup of Nations by the Ivory Coast, and the unavailable players, Kumbulla, Aouar, Smalling and Abraham.
The prediction
There doesn’t seem to be a basis for another Cremonese feat, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Grigiorossi manage to score at least one goal, taking advantage of Mourinho’s team’s continued emergency in the defensive department.
The probable lineups of Roma-Cremonese
ROMA (3-5-2): Svilar; Celik, Cristante, Llorente; Karsdorp, Bove, Paredes, Pellegrini, El Shaarawy; Azmoun, Belotti.
CREMONESE (3-5-2): Jungdal; Antov, Ravanelli, Bianchetti; Ghiglione, Collocolo, Castagnetti, Pickel, Sernicola; Vazquez, Okereke.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
