Cittadella vs Benevento Predictions

The fight for Serie A continues this week, as the semi-finals of Serie B’s playoffs get underway. The weekend brought a victory for Cittadella, who were able to win on the road to edge into the last four. It was a huge result for the hosts, who don’t quite seem like promotion material. However, they’re going up against a Benevento side who were unceremoniously dumped from the top flight last season, as they went down in their first ever top-flight campaign. Can they bounce back at the first opportunity?

The hosts just about made it into the playoff places, originally claiming an eighth-place finish at the end of the campaign. However, they were bumped up when Palermo were taken from third and demoted to Serie C. That allowed the rest to move up, with Cittadella landing a clash with Spezia instead of Pescara. The hosts were able to win their quarter-final 2-1 away from home, which was enough to push them into the last four. However, just how far can Cittadella go in the quest for top-flight football?

The visitors are expected to be real contenders to go up, having strengthened from their first Serie A campaign. They may have struggled to make a major impact – although their draw with AC Milan was a season highlight – it was always expected that the Witches of the South would come back stronger thanks to the experience. However, an immediate return didn’t seem likely when you looked at how they went down last term. Benevento have impressed in Serie B, but can they edge into the playoff final?

The visitors will want to get something out of this first leg, but they have had their issues at the back. Benevento have conceded 1.25 goals per game this term, while they’ve kept just one clean sheet in their last 14 games. On the road this term they did manage to score at all but one of their fellow top nine teams, but can they keep things tight at the back?

Benevento have seen over 2.5 goals in nine of their last 10 matches in the league, while there have been at least three goals in 61% of their games. Meanwhile, Cittadella have averaged 2.1 goals per home outing, with over 2.5 goals in seven of their last eight. Two-thirds of their clashes at home have seen over 2.5, while all of the top five found the net in visits to the Walled City this season. That has us backing goals here, with over 2.5 looking like solid value.