As the Coppa Italia reaches its semi-final stage, underdogs Cremonese seek to continue their superb run by taking a first-leg lead against Fiorentina on Wednesday.
Having seen off Napoli and Roma on their way to the final four, the Serie A strugglers now welcome the in-form Viola to Stadio Giovanni Zini.
Match preview
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Only the second team since 2004 to go without a win during the first half of a Serie A season, and even now with just one league victory to their name, it is fair to say that Cremonese's top-flight comeback has not exactly gone to plan.
After more than two decades away, the Lombardy club returned to the big time last summer, but following Saturday's 3-1 home defeat to Atalanta they are 12 points adrift of safety with 10 games left to play.
Still rooted to the bottom of the table, a quick return to the second tier beckons, but they can at least take pride in their cup run so far: after wins over Ternana and Modena in the earlier rounds, beating an under-strength Napoli in Davide Ballardini's first match in charge set up a quarter-final tie with Roma.
The Grigiorossi then pulled off another memorable shock at Stadio Olimpico, as a Cyriel Dessers penalty set them on the way to a win which secured a place in the Coppa Italia semi-finals against all the odds.
A few weeks later, Cremonese's only Serie A success followed against the same opposition - this time at Stadio Zini - but they have picked up just one point from four subsequent fixtures.
Indeed, in mid-March, Ballardini's men succumbed 2-0 to Fiorentina on home turf, and they must surely improve on that result this week to keep dreams alive of claiming the club's first Coppa Italia.
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While their hosts have never before tasted glory in Italy's national cup competition, Fiorentina are six-time winners of the trophy - though the last such success came back in 2001.
In this year's quarter-finals, Vincenzo Italiano's side progressed past a Torino team that had turned over Milan in the previous round, at a time when a run of one win from six had sent them spiralling down the Serie A standings.
Amid the chronic inconsistency which had characterised Italiano's second season in charge, Fiorentina's 2022-23 campaign therefore seemed set to be defined by cup competitions, yet a recent turnaround in Serie A has carried them into the top half of the table.
Not only are they contesting the Coppa semis and a Europa Conference League quarter-final in the coming weeks, but Saturday's 1-0 win at Inter - when Giacomo Bonaventura turned in the decisive goal early in the second half - sees them back in the conversation for more European football next term.
All told, the Viola's streak stands at a total of eight straight wins ahead of Wednesday's trip to Cremona, and they will certainly start as favourites to meet either Juventus or Inter in the final - the Calcio heavyweights drew their first leg 1-1 on Tuesday.
Fiorentina's last major silverware came with that Coppa Italia triumph 22 years ago, and after being eliminated by Juve in the semis last year they will not want to come up short again by becoming Cremonese's latest cup victims.
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With relegation almost a formality - though he would not openly admit it - Davide Ballardini is likely to prioritise Wednesday's game over a basement battle with Sampdoria at the weekend and select his strongest side, which generally includes ex-Fiorentina midfielder Marco Benassi.
Daniel Ciofani scored from the spot at the weekend, having started up front, though four of his six league goals this term have come as a substitute. Cremonese's top scorer David Okereke will not return in time to replace the 37-year-old journeyman, and Frank Tsadjout is likely to partner him in attack.
The hosts' absence list also includes defensive duo Vlad Chiriches and Alex Ferrari, who were both sidelined by muscular problems on Saturday; Emanuel Aiwu may therefore continue to deputise in the back three.
Reserve goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu joined Luka Jovic in missing Fiorentina's victory at San Siro last time out, but the latter could come back from a respiratory virus to compete with Arthur Cabral for the centre-forward role.
Cabral was not on the scoresheet against Inter, but went into the international break on a run of eight goals from nine games.
Among those who began Saturday's game on the bench, Sofyan Amrabat and Nicolas Gonzalez have the strongest claims for recalls, as Vincenzo Italiano also picks his best available XI.
Cremonese possible starting lineup:
Carnesecchi; Vasquez, Bianchetti, Aiwu; Sernicola, Benassi, Pickel, Meite, Valeri; Tsadjout, Ciofani
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
Terracciano; Dodo, Martinez Quarta, Igor, Biraghi; Amrabat, Mandragora; Ikone, Barak, Gonzalez; Cabral
We say: Cremonese 1-2 Fiorentina
With their confidence sapped still further by a 17th Serie A defeat of the season, Cremonese may find it hard to resist Italy's most in-form side on Wednesday.
Fiorentina's surge since losing back-to-back league games in February has been nothing short of spectacular, and they can set themselves up with a first-leg lead ahead of the return in Florence later this month.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
