Serie D Girone I is delivering exciting results, and while the bookmakers are asleep, it’s the perfect time to get acquainted with the participants of the 34th round. Who will win the series: Messina or Messina? Check the table, look for good bets, and don’t forget about the top scorers!
What happened on June 30 or who are Associazione Sportiva Diletantistica Roccella?
In the city of Rocella Ionica (in Latin, Italian), in Calabria, there’s a team called ASDR. They are the youngest in Serie D, with an average age of 20.5; and maybe that’s why things aren’t going perfectly for the club: they’re in 18th (last) place in the standings, conceding a lot and generally playing a controversial style of football in terms of results (which is great from a pure sports perspective). Roccella’s average scored so far is 0.73, conceded 1.85, and conceded away is even 2.19, which is telling.
Today, they’ll be facing FC Messina, which on June 30 beat Paterno away 3:2, thereby keeping their mathematical chances alive to move from 2nd place (where they are now) to first. That win against Paterno really helps. By the way, if you didn’t know, FC Messina has 12 foreigners (an Anglicism for foreign players). Among them is Pablo Nicolás Caballero Santos, an Argentine; he’s a forward, 34 years old, and he scored the opening goal (24′) in the June 30 match (with two more on 37′ and 58′ by Carbonaro). Caballero was born in Totoras and joined FC Messina in the 19/20 season from FC Cartagena, where he played 14 matches and scored three goals. All of this together (level of opponents, skill, statistical insights) suggests: keep an eye on FC Messina in this game.
Girone I will surprise you or why forwards are so important
Just don’t say it’s Città Vese, because Cittanovese no! That’s how Italians might put it when talking about the match between 13th and 8th in Serie D. From the city of Santa Maria di Castellabate, Santa Maria Cilento is heading to play Cittanovese today. Statistically, things are mixed for Santa Maria this season: at home, they’ve won 9 times, but away, only once. They’ve also racked up losses at home 2/away 6, draws at home 6/away 9. With not much left in the standings for the teams, individual players matter.
Interestingly, Cittanovese’s roster has only 3 foreigners, and in the Serie D transfer value table (Division I, don’t forget), they’re 8th with 923 thousand. Also fascinating is that against Troina, Cittanovese won away 4:2, with a brace from the well-known Alessio Viola, who once played for Taranto in the 2016/2017 season and started his professional career at Reggina. For stats, it’s key that Cittanovese averages 1.21 goals per match, and personally, the presence of Domenico Maggio in their lineup is crucial. At 30, he’s already scored 18 goals.
Sicilians, Sassuolo, and other Girone I adventures
Biancorossi (Italian for white and red) are going through tough times right now. Rende Calcio 1968 (which was restructured and renamed to S.S. Rende in 2007) is currently in 16th place in Division I. Things are shaky for them. Interestingly, after Roccella, which conceded 61 goals this season, Rende and Ragusa have the two weakest defenses in Division I: Rende conceded 55, and ASD Marina di Ragusa 57. Meanwhile, Ragusa with 30 points has already been relegated and will aim to return next seasons.
Aldo Campo (not a champion, it’s the name of the stadium in Sicily) and Rosso Blu might expect a win today, but their seasonal stats—W7 D9 L17—show it’s going to be tough. Of course, at home, Marina di Ragusa fares better (5/6/5 and 21 points out of 30 earned at home), but on average, they concede 1.73 and score 1.06; that points to a high-scoring scenario. By the way, Daniele Cipolla fits perfectly into this scenario—he’s from the Sassuolo academy. He played one match for them (U19), and now he’s in his third season with Rende. On June 30, Rende beat Biancavilla 5:3 and were leading 3:0 by the 19th minute; the 23-year-old Daniele scored a brace then, and we could see a similar feast here.
Enjoy Italian football, everyone!
