Preview: Cremonese vs. Parma - prediction, team news, lineups

Promoted Cremonese and Parma face off in Serie A for the first time since April 1996, when the unbeaten Lombardy side host the Emilians at Giovanni Zini on Sunday.

Seven points from the opening three games was not expected for Davide Nicola's team, and they aim to improve to four matches without losing against the winless visitors in this weekend’s fixture.

Match preview

Nicola’s remit is often to mastermind great escapes in Serie A, so even the Turin-born manager may be pleasantly surprised by his team’s bright start since returning to the top flight.

Giovanni Stroppa may have masterminded La Cremo's return after a two-year absence, but his contract was not renewed, and the higher-ups in Cremona opted for the former Torino, Salernitana and Empoli boss.

That decision is already paying off, as the Grigiorossi have defeated AC Milan at San Siro, secured a 3-2 victory over fellow promoted side Sassuolo and kept their first league clean sheet in the goalless match at Hellas Verona.

Although Nicola's team have exited the Coppa Italia, fans will not be overly concerned so far, as results in domestic football remain positive for the foreseeable future.

While this impressive start, which has seen La Cremo secure more points than all but unbeaten Napoli and Juventus (nine points), is unsustainable, the wins secured in the opening weeks will undoubtedly prove valuable as the season progresses.

Visiting Cremona this weekend are Parma, whose disappointing 2024-25 season has carried over into the new campaign, as evidenced by their winless start after three fixtures.

The Emilians are one of six Serie A teams yet to record maximum points this season, with Carlos Cuesta’s side collecting just one point from nine available.

The Emilia-Romagna side’s poor return leaves them second-bottom in Serie A, and issues at both ends of the pitch emphasise their ongoing struggles: the Crusaders have scored once and conceded five, jointly the lowest and third-highest totals respectively, highlighting the specifics of their difficulties.

Recent history in this fixture also adds to the away side's gloom, as Parma have won only one of their last five encounters, losing three, while the Emilians' last top-flight fixtures against the Cremona-based opponent ended in 2-0 defeats in November 1995 and April 1996.

Cuesta and Nicola were appointed at the start of pre-season, but while the Cremonese boss appears more comfortable in his new role, the 30-year-old manager, formerly Mikel Arteta’s assistant at Arsenal, has yet to fully acclimatise to the position.

Cremonese Serie A form:

Cremonese form (all competitions):

Parma Serie A form:

Parma form (all competitions):

Team News

Jamie Vardy made his Cremonese debut against Verona at the Bentegodi, but a muscle issue could prevent the former Leicester City captain from making his home debut this weekend.

While Cremonese have had five different goalscorers — Federico Baschirotto, Federico Bonazzoli, Filippo Terracciano, Franco Vazquez and Manuel De Luca — Alessio Zerbin has shown a tendency to create clear-cut opportunities, with no teammate matching his two.

Parma will assess Hernani (thigh) and Lautaro Valenti, while Jacob Ondrejka (fibula) and Matija Frigan (knee) are long-term absentees.

Although the Emilians have scored just one goal, Emanuele Valeri, Pontus Almqvist, and Adrian Bernabe have crafted six, four and four chances respectively, with Almqvist creating two clear-cut opportunities, compared to one each by the other two.

Cremonese possible starting lineup:

Audero; Terracciano, Baschirotto, Bianchetti; Zerbin, Collocolo, Bondo, Vandeputte, Pezzella; Bonazzoli, Sanabria

Parma possible starting lineup:

Suzuki; Prato, Circati, Ndiaye; Lovik, Ordonez, Bernabe, Sorensen, Valeri; Cutrone, Pellegrino