Play off Serie C 2025-2026: Salernitana-Casertana, the probable formations
Salernitana and Cittadella will take the field Wednesday night at the Arechi Stadium, with kickoff at 8:45 p.m., for the return match of the first national phase of the Serie C play-offs. At the Pinto, the granata had won the first leg challenge 3-2, complicating the plans of the falchetti, who will be called upon to win away by two or more goals.
The Salernitana arrives at this appointment after a season in Group C characterized by ups and downs. The Granata finished the regular season among the top positions in the southern grouping, a run that also saw a change on the bench: in February came Serse Cosmi, in his 17th experience as coach, who was called in to replace previous coach Giuseppe Raffaele after a series of mixed results. The 65-year-old Umbrian technician, who returned to coaching after three and a half years away from the fields, has been able to restore compactness to a group that is now playing for a chance to win a place in the next Serie B.
Various elements of the probable lineup are familiar faces from this Granata season. Goalkeeper Antonio Donnarumma is one of Cosmi’s certainties, as well as midfielder Luca Villa, who had previously experienced a moment of great apprehension: in November, during the home match against Crotone, the outfielder had lost consciousness for a few moments following a clash of play, leaving the field in an ambulance although conscious. It was an episode that had shaken the environment, but from which Villa has since returned to full strength, carving out a starting role in Cosmi’s system of play.
The Arechi promises to be the scene of an intense evening, with Salernitana that will be able to count on the warmth of its public to manage the advantage gained in the first leg and try to close the qualification discourse. On the other hand, Casertana, aware of the difficulty of the task, will have to overturn a result that at the moment smiles on the granata. To do so, it will rely on Butic and Casarotto up front, Pezzella, Toscano and Girelli in a dense midfield complemented by Oukhadda on the right and Llano on the left and a three-man defense composed of Heinz, Rocchi and Martino. In goal Victor De Lucia, only namesake of that Alfonso De Lucia who defended Salernitana’s posts back in 2003-2004.
The probable lineups
Salernitana (3-4-1-2): Donnarumma; Berra, Golemic, Anastasio; Cabianca, De Boer, Tascone, Villa; Ferraris; Ferrari, Lescano. All: Cosmi.
Casertana (3-5-2): De Lucia; Heinz, Rocchi, Martino; Oukhadda, Pezzella, Toscano, Girelli, Llano; Casarotto, Butic. All: Coppitelli.
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