The second leg of the Serie B relegation play-out takes place on Thursday, with Brescia welcoming Cosenza to Stadio Mario Rigamonti.
Last week, Cosenza won the first leg 1-0 on home soil, courtesy of Marco Nasti’s second-half goal, although Brescia dominated the ball and racked up more shots.
La rete di Alexander Jallow, che è valsa la vittoria per il Brescia, è il best goal della 32ª giornata di campionato 👏 pic.twitter.com/5NQpGv69f3— Lega B (@Lega_B) April 14, 2023
La rete di Alexander Jallow, che è valsa la vittoria per il Brescia, è il best goal della 32ª giornata di campionato 👏 pic.twitter.com/5NQpGv69f3
Given that both sides finished the regular season with identical records of nine wins, 13 draws and 16 losses, there is very little between the teams.
Let’s start by looking at Thursday’s hosts, Brescia, who have only managed to win three of their previous 25 matches in Serie B.
After enduring a 17-game winless run between December and April, Brescia picked up three victories in four outings before recording a four-match winless run.
It is worth noting that Brescia finished the regular season with the worst defensive record in Serie B, having conceded 57 goals in 38 outings (1.50 goals per game).
On top of that, only three sides scored fewer goals than Brescia’s 37 during the regular season, underlining the team’s attacking struggles.
That said, Cosenza are the lowest scorers in the Italian second tier, having netted 30 goals in 38 regular-season encounters (0.78 goals per game).
Although Cosenza have avoided defeat in nine of their last 11 matches, they have drawn five of their previous eight, ending a seven-game winless run last time out.
Many of Cosenza’s problems have come on the road in recent times, as they have only managed to win two of their last 39 away league games.
It is also worth pointing out that each of Cosenza’s previous four matches have produced under 2.5 goals, meaning Thursday’s clash is likely to be a low-scoring encounter.
Head-to-head: Cosenza ended an eight-match winless run against Brescia when they won the first leg of the relegation play-out 1-0 last week.
Prior to that victory, Brescia enjoyed a run of six wins and two draws against Cosenza between 2018 and 2023.
Team news: Brescia are currently without Massimo Bertagnoli, Federico Pace, Andrea Papetti, Alexander Jallow and Nicolas Galazzi due to injury.
Cosenza, on the other hand, are missing Argentine striker Mauro Zarate, who has not featured since February due to a ruptured cruciate ligament.
With very little to separate Brescia and Cosenza, the relegation rivals look set to play out another close-fought on Thursday.
Accordingly, Forebet predicts that Brescia and Cosenza will serve up a low-scoring draw in the second leg, sending the hosts into the third tier.