Cremonese host Como at Stadio Giovanni Zini on Sunday with their Serie A future still hanging in the balance. The home side must avoid defeat on the final day of the season to keep any chance of staying in the top flight alive.
Cremonese are one point behind 17th-placed Lecce, so even a draw would not guarantee safety. But if Cremonese draw and Lecce lose at home to Genoa, both teams would finish level on points and be sent to a one-off playoff at a neutral venue to decide who goes down.
The pressure on Cremonese is sharpened by history. In June 2023, they took maximum points on the final day against Salernitana before dropping to Serie B, a reminder that survival battles can turn on a single afternoon. This time, Marco Giampaolo’s side arrive with some momentum, having beaten Pisa 3-0 and Udinese 1-0 in their last two league games, a run that has delivered three wins under his management.
Those results matter because they have kept the door open. Cremonese’s recent victories came against sides with little left to play for or under reduced circumstances, but they still moved the team back into contention and ensured Sunday is about far more than pride. After a season in which margins have been thin, any slip against Como could end their top-flight stay outright.
Como, though, have their own objective to chase. They are fifth in the table and only two points behind Milan and Roma, who both have 70 points, so the visitors remain in the hunt for a Champions League berth. To keep that dream alive, Como must beat Cremonese and then hope for a Milan loss against Cagliari, a Roma failure to beat Hellas Verona, or both.
The visitors arrive in strong form. Como have taken 41 points in 2026, a total bettered only by Inter Milan’s 50, and they have kept four consecutive clean sheets. They have also recorded 19 shutouts this season, more than any other side in the league has matched, which gives them a platform that has made them one of the hardest teams to break down in the closing stretch.
That defensive record is the stark contrast in this matchup. Cremonese need a result to stay alive, while Como need a win to keep pressure on the sides above them. One team is trying to extend its season through survival, the other through the pursuit of Europe, and Sunday offers both a final test of nerve at Stadio Giovanni Zini and a possible route to a playoff or a Champions League race that stretches one more day.
