Parma roll into this season opener at the Stadio Ennio Tardini with a spring in their step after a tidy 2-0 Coppa Italia win over Catania. That result, built on a clean sheet, is exactly the kind of foundation Carlos Cuesta wants after a pre-season that saw him rip up the old 5-3-2 and install a 4-3-3. There is real intent here. The Crociati have been sharp in Trentino, and the new shape gives them more bodies in midfield and a platform to press higher. The defensive record last term — 46 conceded — was the glaring weakness, and Cuesta has clearly made it his first priority. A shutout in the cup is a small sample, but it is a signal.

Cagliari also won their cup tie, edging Arezzo 1-0 at the Unipol Domus, but the performance was hardly a statement. Fabio Pisacane has kept the same defensive core, with Caprile emerging as the new leader between the sticks, and that continuity is valuable. Yet there is a nagging sense that the Sardinians are still finding their feet. They beat a side just promoted to Serie B — a typical cup banana skin avoided, nothing more. Away from home, against a Parma side that has spent the summer sharpening its attacking tools, Cagliari will need more than solidity. They will need a spark, and recent evidence suggests that spark is not yet there.

Momentum favours the hosts. Parma have a new system, a new energy, and the emotional boost of a home crowd for the first game of the campaign. Cagliari look functional but unspectacular. In a season opener, where nerves and caution often rule, the team with clearer attacking ideas usually edges it. That team is Parma.