Preview: Parma vs Catania - prediction, team news, lineups

Parma Calcio 1913 will host Catania FC at the Stadio Ennio Tardini in the Coppa Italia round of 64 on Friday.

The Serie A side are strong favourites, while Catania are dealing with registration issues that have ruled several new signings out of the fixture.

Match preview

Parma closed the 2025-26 Serie A season 13th, a comfortable survival that arrived under Carlos Cuesta, who took the job in June 2025 as a first-time head coach after five years as Mikel Arteta's assistant at Arsenal.

Matteo Pellegrino topped the Gialloblu's scoring charts with nine league goals as Parma finished with 28 scored against 46 conceded, a defensive record Cuesta still has to address.

The Crociati opened 2026/27 preparations at the Mutti Training Center in Collecchio on July 13 before decamping to Trentino for a camp in Pinzolo, which included a triangular tournament at Trento's Briamasco Stadium on July 25 against Sassuolo and the hosts.

Parma drew their first summer friendly 1-1 against Arezzo in Pinzolo on July 30, Kouda finishing an Almqvist assist before Sala equalised from distance, with Cuesta rotating his entire side at the break and Frigan later hitting the crossbar.

A second 1-1 followed on August 2 against Walter Mazzarri's Iraklis Thessaloniki, Koljic putting the Greek side ahead after the hour before substitute Mikolajewski levelled on 75 minutes from a Kouda through-ball.

Cuesta's men closed their pre-season with a 0-2 defeat to Sampdoria at the Tardini on August 9, leaving attacking patterns still to sharpen before the campaign proper begins.

The attention now turns to Friday in the Coppa Italia against Catania as they look to go past the round of 16 this season.

Catania finished as runners-up in Serie C Group C with 19 wins, 13 draws and six defeats, a season that ended in heartbreak when a 4-0 first-leg mauling at Ascoli in the play-off semi-final proved too much to overturn despite a 2-1 win back at the Massimino.

The summer since has been dominated by a registration crisis: the Rossazzurri missed the August 10 deadline to lodge a supplementary bank guarantee with the federation, leaving roughly ten new signings unregistered and exposing the club to a points deduction — reported at two to five — once Serie C sporting justice rules on the matter.

Emilio Longo, appointed from Crotone on July 3 to replace Domenico Toscano, took his weakened Elefanti through the Coppa Italia preliminary round anyway, drawing 1-1 with newly promoted Vicenza, Cicerelli's penalty cancelling out Moncini's bicycle-kick opener before winning 5-4 on spot-kicks.

That result sends Longo's side to the Stadio Ennio Tardini on Friday in the round of 32 tie against Cuesta's Parma, a sharp step up from anything the Etnei faced in the third tier and a chance to salvage some momentum from a chaotic close season.

Catania Coppa Italia form:

Team News

Zion Suzuki's near-complete €35m move to PSG and may not be involved this weekend, which leaves Edoardo Corvi as Parma's likely starting goalkeeper.

El Bilal Toure, on loan from Atalanta, debuted against Sampdoria and should start alongside Pellegrino and Frigan up front; new arrival David Romero only lands in Parma the day before the match, ruling him out.

Emilio Longo again faces a threadbare squad after Catania missed a second bank-guarantee deadline on August 10, leaving new signings unregistered.

Dini deputised in goal for the blocked Rinaldi against Filippo Vicenza and should start again, with only around 16 senior players available, Salvatore Caturano is eligible since his suspension applies only to league matches, and defender Fabio Ponsi has been added as emergency cover.

Parma possible starting lineup:

Corvi; Delprato, Trolio, Circati, Valeri; Ordonez, Sorensen, Keita; Frigan, Toure, Pellegrino

Catania possible starting lineup:

Dini; Raimo, Ierardi, Quaini, Donnarumma; Tacchio, Corbari, Jimenez; Cicerelli, Lunetta; Caturano

We say: Parma 2-0 Catania

Parma should head into this fixture with confidence, with Carlos Cuesta aiming to guide his side into the next round of the competition.

The visitors are struggling for form but managed to beat Vicenza in the previous round, however, Parma should have enough quality to avoid an upset and secure their place in the next round.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.