Parma come into this season opener with a spring in their step. The Crociati have been busy in pre-season, holed up at the Mutti Training Center in Collecchio before a camp in Pinzolo, and that work shows intent. They even ran a triangular tournament at Trento's Briamasco Stadium against Sassuolo and the hosts — sharpening the legs, testing the combinations. Matteo Pellegrino topped their scoring charts with nine league goals last term, but the real story is the defence: 46 conceded is a wound that needs stitching, and new coach Cuesta has made that his priority. This is a side that knows it must tighten up, and a home opener is the perfect place to start.

Cagliari, meanwhile, are in flux. They've got a Coppa Italia date with Arezzo just days before this trip to the Ennio Tardini, and that's a distraction. They'll be without Raphael Kofler and Riyad Idrissi through injury — two bodies missing from a squad that's still finding its rhythm. The Sardinians are scrappers, always have been, but away from home on the opening day, against a Parma side with fresh legs and a point to prove? The momentum is with the hosts. Parma smell blood here, and we do too.