Since this article was published, this game has been called off due to a coronavirus outbreak in the Salernitana squad. A new date for the game will be confirmed in due course.
Seeking to end a run of five consecutive defeats in all competitions, Salernitana return to Serie A action against Venezia on Thursday night.
The hosts find themselves dead last in the table ahead of the resumption of league football, while Paolo Zanetti's side occupy 16th spot in the rankings.
Match preview
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A swift demotion back down to Serie B appears to be on the cards for Salernitana, who must enact quite the turnaround in 2022 - however unlikely that may be - to salvage their top-flight status for another season.
Stefano Colantuono's men could not have been handed a more difficult end to the calendar year as they were forced to pit their wits against reigning champions Inter Milan, who eased to a 5-0 win thanks to five different goalscorers at Stadio Arechi.
Having been taught a footballing lesson by the Nerazzurri in their final game of 2021, Salernitana begin 2022 in 20th spot in the table as the only side in Serie A yet to hit double figures this term, taking just eight points from 54 on offer so far.
Colantuono's side also bowed out of the Coppa Italia to fellow top-flight strugglers Genoa in December and have lost their last five in all tournaments without scoring a single goal, including each of their last four in the top flight.
Tallies of 11 goals scored and 42 conceded unsurprisingly represent the worst records in the Serie A season so far, and home is not where the heart is for Salernitana, who are aiming to avoid a sixth consecutive loss at their headquarters this week.
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Fellow newly-promoted outfit Venezia are at risk of sharing the same fate as their seemingly doomed opponents, but this week's visitors to the Stadio Arechi boast a healthy lead over the relegation-threatened pack after a relatively solid first half of the campaign.
Zanetti's side managed to get to half time against Lazio with the score at 1-1 after Francesco Forte had cancelled out Pedro's early opener, but the Biancocelesti ultimately ran out 3-1 winners on December 22 thanks to Francesco Acerbi and Luis Alberto's finishes.
Defeat to Maurizio Sarri's men ended a three-game unbeaten run for Venezia in all tournaments, and Zanetti's men are still flirting with danger as they lie 16th in the rankings, but a six-point gap separates them from the bottom three at the time of writing.
A tally of six league goals away from home all season will not inspire confidence within the Leoni Alati ranks, but they have found the back of the net in each of their last five Serie A games and will fancy their chances against their shot-shy hosts.
However, one of Salernitana's two wins so far this season was a 2-1 success on Venezia's turf back in October, which represented the hosts' third consecutive win over I Leoni Alati by that scoreline following their pair of triumphs in the 2020-21 Serie B campaign.
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Team News
Salernitana only have one Africa Cup of Nations representative unavailable to them for this game, with Lassana Coulibaly earning a call-up to the Mali squad.
Wajdi Kechrida was due to represent Tunisia but has tested positive for COVID-19, and the hosts also have three injury concerns in the shape of Leonardo Capezzi, Stefan Strandberg and Matteo Ruggeri.
Andrea Schiavone is the most likely candidate to cover for Coulibaly in the middle, as Simy and Franck Ribery resume their partnership in the final third.
As for Venezia, midfielder Tanner Tessmann and defender Mattia Caldara will both miss out due to suspension, while Tyronne Ebuehi is representing Nigeria at AFCON.
Zanetti will therefore be forced into a couple of alterations in the backline, as Michael Svoboda and Ridgeciano Haps prepare to return to the starting lineup.
The visiting manager can otherwise keep changes to a minimum given their positive injury situation, with Forte potentially doing enough to keep David Okereke out of the XI.
Salernitana possible starting lineup:
Fiorillo; Gyomber, Gagliolo, Bogdan; Delli Carri, Schiavone, Obi, Kastanos, Ranieri; Ribery, Simy
Venezia possible starting lineup:
Romero; Mazzocchi, Svoboda, Ceccaroni, Haps; Ampadu, Vacca, Crnigoj; Aramu, Kiyine; Forte
We say: Salernitana 1-1 Venezia
Salernitana's record against Venezia in recent years makes for positive reading, but goals have been at a premium for the league's basement side and will likely be in short supply again once more.
While we do expect the hosts to finally end their long wait for a goal, Venezia have been a tough nut to crack away from home and will expect to earn at least a point on Thursday, if not all three.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Salernitana win with a probability of 47.91%. A draw had a probability of 26.3% and a win for Venezia had a probability of 25.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Salernitana win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.4%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.13%) and 2-0 (9.11%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.44%), while for a Venezia win it was 0-1 (8.47%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Salernitana would win this match.
