Parma vs. Cremonese: a battle for survival

A hugely important survival clash at the Tardini between Parma and Cremonese: the hosts lost in Turin to Torino last week, ending a run of five consecutive games unbeaten results which allowed them to move well clear of the third-from-bottom spot, currently held by Cremonese on 24 points. With a win, Cuesta’s side would go 13 points clear and all but secure their place in Serie A. As for the Grigiorossi, their survival fight is still all to be built: during the week they changed coach, parting ways with Davide Nicola and bringing in Marco Giampaolo, and now they want to relieve themselves of a crisis that has yielded just three points from 12 matches played in 2026.

HEAD TO HEAD

There have been 28 meetings in Emilia between the two sides: the hosts have won 16 (most recently 1–0 in Serie B 2017/18), there have been seven draws (most recently 1–1 in Serie B 2023/24) and Cremonese have won five (most recently 2–1 away in Serie B 2021/22).

In Serie A, the fixture at the Tardini has been absent since 10 April 1996: a 2–0 home win, with goals from Mussi and Zola. The match had originally been scheduled for 17 March 1996, but was postponed due to a players’ strike.

Across the nine Serie A meetings between the Tardini and the Zini, Cremonese have never beaten Parma: four draws and five Parma wins. Gianfranco Zola is the top scorer in the top-flight meetings with five goals; no other player has scored more than one.

In the last eight meetings at the Tardini against Parma, Cremonese have managed only one win: 2–1 on 19 September 2021 in Serie B. The rest of the record is four defeats and three draws.

DID YOU KNOW?

Parma have just seen a run of five straight unbeaten results come to an end: before the 4–1 defeat in Torino–Parma, they had not lost since 1 February, when they were beaten 4–1 at home by Juventus. In that unbeaten spell, they recorded three wins and two draws.

Parma are the Serie A 2025/26 team that have benefited from the most opposition red cards (7).

Parma are among the lowest-scoring teams in Serie A 2025/26 with 21 goals, level with Lecce.

Cremonese have gone 15 matchdays without a win: their last victory was on 7 December 2025 (Cremonese–Lecce 2–0). Since then, they have recorded four draws and 11 defeats. It is the longest current winless run across Europe’s top five leagues (next are Metz in Ligue 1 with 14, Heidenheim in the Bundesliga with 13, Tottenham in the Premier League with 12, and Espanyol and Elche in LaLiga with 11).

Cremonese conceded four goals in their last match: it is the third time this season they have conceded four or more in a single game (also Inter–Cremonese 4–1 on 4 October 2025 and Juventus–Cremonese 5–0 on 12 January 2026).

COACHES and PLAYERS

It will be the first official meeting between Carlos Cuesta and Marco Giampaolo.

Marco Giampaolo returns as Cremonese head coach: he previously managed the Grigiorossi from November 2014 to June 2015 in Serie C, taking charge of 26 official matches with a record of 9 wins, 10 draws and 7 defeats.

Emanuele Valeri is the ex of the day: he made 107 appearances and scored seven goals for Cremonese between 2020/21 and 2022/23, the club he has represented most often in his career.

Only Federico Dimarco (263) has attempted more crosses than Emanuele Valeri (208) in Serie A 2025/26.

Mateo Pellegrino scored against Torino: it was the Argentine striker’s eighth league goal of the season. He is also the top scorer in Serie A in the 2026 calendar year with five goals, moving ahead of Lautaro Martínez.

Only Arijanet Murić (104) has made more saves than Emil Audero (103) in Serie A 2025/26.

Only Federico Dimarco (99) and Luka Modrić (68) have taken more corners than Jari Vandeputte (65) in Serie A 2025/26.

David Okereke scored against Fiorentina: it was the Cremonese forward’s first league goal of the season. He had not scored in an official match since 20 April 2025 (Başakşehir–Gaziantep 2–1, Trendyol Süper Lig). In Italy, he had not scored since 12 November 2023 (Brescia–Cremonese 0–3, Serie B), while his last Serie A goal dated back to 3 May 2023 (Milan–Cremonese 1–1).

DISCIPLINE 

Suspended: Delprato (Parma); Bondo (Cremonese)

Cautioned: Troilo, Britschgi, Nicolussi Caviglia, Pellegrino (Parma); Vardy, Luperto (Cremonese)

REFEREE

FABBRI (CIPRESSA – YOSHIKAWA) IV: GALIPO’, VAR: PATERNA, AVAR: DI BELLO

UPCOMING MATCHES

Lazio-Parma (Saturday April 4th, 20.45 CEST)

Cremonese-Bologna (Sunday April 5th, 15.00 CEST)

(Photo Getty Images)