In the previous round of the Coppa Italia, Palermo and Mantova overcame Serie A clubs. Now the teams from the same division will determine the stronger side in a head-to-head encounter — the Sicilians have a better chance of winning. Palermo have been attacking superbly at the start of the season.
Palermo
A long pre-season featuring seven friendlies has shown that Palermo intend to return to the top flight as soon as possible. They suffered only two defeats in those matches, one of them against Juventus, and they are already on a run of three wins and six goals in total in competitive fixtures. In the first round of the Coppa Italia, Pippo Inzaghi's team overcame Lecce 2:0, scoring twice before half-time. Against Arezzo on Sunday, the southern side again attacked brilliantly in a 3:2 win.
Mantova
In mid-August, Mantova caused the biggest upset in Italian football by knocking Lazio out in the first round of the Coppa Italia, winning 2:0. In Rome, Modesto's team had just 30% possession but attacked well, producing 2.28 xG. Mantova won thanks to their substitutions: Bragantini and Chiazo came off the bench to contribute 1+2, although Lazio amassed 2.20 xG. Modesto's players have conceded one goal in each of their first two Serie B matches.
Palermo vs Mantova Prediction
Palermo won the teams' most recent head-to-head meeting — it took place in March and ended 2:1. Mantova's squad is worth half as much (€28 million compared with €54.5 million), so the hosts should score at least twice — they have started the season in excellent scoring form.
