Pescara vs Siena, Preview: All or nothing for Pescara as Serie B beckons
It’s not quite last chance saloon, but another defeat for Pescara will see their survival hopes become nigh on impossible.
With six games to play after this week, including games with AS Roma, Napoli, AC Milan and Fiorentina to negotiate, a nine point deficit is a tough ask to overhaul.
Pescara boss Cristian Bucchi has admitted "this is the last chance we have to get back in the race, while opposite number Giuseppe Iachini has dubbed this meeting as "the toughest game we could face right now."
Siena have gone into a training camp to prepare for this game and will enter as favourites after winning the reverse fixture 1-0 back in November. It was a game which proved to be Giovanni Stroppa’s last in charge of Pescara, who missed a penalty and finished an ill-tempered match with nine men.
A run of a win and three draws has carried the Tuscans out of the relegation places for the first time this season. It’s a remarkable turnaround for a side that have looked hampered by their six point penalty for most of the campaign.
Pescara are currently winless in 12 and have lost their last seven matches. However, Bucchi's side can take heart from the fact that it took a penalty and Giuseppe Rizzo's sending off for Champions elect Juventus to find a way past them last weekend. Although his side eventually succumbed to a 2-1 defeat in Turin, veteran goalkeeper Ivan Pelizzoli rolled back the years with a heroic performance between the sticks.
The home side have a host of injuries to deal with, but the visitors come into the game as close to full strength as they can get, with just Christian Terlizzi looking unlikely to be fit in time to start.
Pescara injuries and suspensions
Out: Luciano Zauri, Antonio Bocchetti, Uros Cosic, Antonio Balzano, Vladimir Weiss (injured) Marco Capuano, Emmanuel Cascione, Gaetano D'Agostino (in doubt) Giuseppe Rizzo, Birkir Bjarnason (suspended)
Siena injuries and suspensions
Out: Christian Terlizzi (in doubt)
Match Date/Time: Saturday 13th April 2013 6:00 p.m. local, 12:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Stadio Adriatico, Pescara, Italy
TV: Sky Calcio 1 (Italy), RAI Internazionale (U.S)
