09 September 2022
What a difference a year makes for Salernitana. Back in the top flight last season after a 22-year hiatus, the club from Campania seemed destined for an immediate drop to Serie B.
Instead, new owners, new players and a new coach, brought turnaround in fortunes after the Winter break and they staved off relegation despite accumulating only 31 points, the lowest total in Serie A history to avoid the drop.
The coach that worked the miracle is still at the helm, Davide Nicola, born near Pinerolo in northern Turin, and has so far guided his team to six points, a club best start in the three-points for a win era in Serie A.
The solid start to the campaign has arrived despite the absence of two experienced campaigners, Franck Ribéry and Ivan Radovanovic, both of whom are also ruled out for the trip to Turin, and the coach has recognised his players' early-season efforts
It was tough to come out unscathed from three matches in a week, but the boys have shown character and ability - which will be needed for our next trip that we must face, always giving our all. Davide Nicola, Salernitana Coach
Grabbing the limelight on the pitch is summer signing Boulaye Dia, who briefly tasted action against the Bianconeri as a late substitute for Villarreal in the Champions League Round of 16 first-leg fixture in Spain in February. The Senegal international has found the net three times, including an 88th minute equaliser in the Seahorses last away fixture at Bologna.
PLAYER FOCUS
- Boulaye Dia is the first player in the history of Salernitana to have scored three goals in the club's first five games in Serie A and is, with Milan's Rafael Leão, only one of two players to have scored at least two goals and provided at least two assists.
- Antonio Candreva, who played 16 games and scored twice for Juventus in 2010, is aiming to score for a seventh different Serie A team - a feat no one currently playing in the top flight has ever achieved as former Sampdoria teammates Simone Verdi and Fabio Quagliarella are also stuck on six.
- Krzysztof Piatek last started a league match on the final day of last season, for Fiorentina against Juventus, and has not scored in nine games in Serie A - the longest he has gone without scoring in Europe's five top leagues.
- Federico Bonazzoli is set to play his 100th match in Serie A but has yet to score against Juventus, having lost all five of the matches he has featured in against the Bianconeri.
- Grigoris Kastanos wore the Juventus shirt for 61 minutes in Serie A on 13 April 2019, in the match against SPAL at the Paolo Mazza stadium in Ferrara.
TEAM FOCUS
- Six points so far, Salernitana in their two previous Serie A seasons in the era of three points for a win (1998/99 and 2021/22) had collected just one point, while in 1947/48, the only other top flight experience, they had obtained two wins and two draws.
- Since mid-April, Salernitana have accumulated 21 points from five wins, six draws and two defeats, four points more than Juventus over the same period - only Napoli (24), Inter (27) and Milan (29) have done better.
- Salernitana have drawn six of their last 10 league games, including their two most recent outings, against Bologna and Empoli - the most in Serie A over the period from May. What's more, they have tied each of their last four matches outside of Salerno - the longest open away draw sequence in the league.
