The Preliminary round of this season’s Coppa Italia will be played this weekend and it features this intriguing clash between Serie B side, Palermo, and their Serie C counterparts, Reggiana, when the two teams clash on Sunday evening at the Stadio Renzo Barbera.
Palermo returned from the Italian wilderness at the end of last season as they gained promotion back up to the domestic second tier following a hard fought 2-0 win on aggregate over two legs against Calcio Padova in the Serie C promotion play-off.
It was no less than Palermo deserved as the hosts put together an impressive 17-match unbeaten run in the final stages of last season’s campaign which included 12 wins and despite being handed a heavy 5-0 defeat away at Pisa in a pre-season friendly, Palermo will be in confident mood ahead of this upcoming Coppa Italia clash.
On the subject of the Coppa Italia, Palermo have been notoriously inconsistent in previous campaigns as the hosts have won and lost in alternate fashion in their last eight cup ties.
As for Reggiana, the visitors narrowly missed out on automatic promotion from Serie C at the end of last season, being pipped at the post by eventual Girone B title winners, Modena, by a slender two-point margin and then losing out again in the 4th round of the promotion play-offs.
Reggiana were handed a 3-1 defeat on aggregate by FeralpiSalo which consigned the visitors to another season in the third tier of the Italian pyramid for this upcoming term and this upcoming Coppa Italia clash will be their first game of this new domestic season.
Nevertheless, Reggiana will still feel confident about their chances at Palermo as the visitors lost just two of their last 10 matches in all competitions.
While the bigger picture shows that they have lost just four games in their previous 41 matches across the board.
In addition, Reggiana have lost just three of their previous 20 outings on the road but previous appearances in the Coppa Italia have not been kind to the visitors.
Reggiana have lost six of their last eight cup ties and picked up just two wins with victories recorded against FeralpiSalo and Trastevere.
With only one pre-season game between them though, this Coppa Italia clash may have the distinct feeling of a pre-season friendly and a draw looks to be on the cards here.