Both sides have a perfect record thus far this year. The hosts defeated Lazio and rallied from a 2-0 deficit to hold Fiorentina, while Salernitana played two scoreless draws. Giulio Maggiore and Flavius Daniliuc had injuries, but Boulaye Dia was not included because of his "attitude" and because his deadline day transfer to Wolves had fallen through.
Nikola Krstovic made his debut against Fiorentina and scored to win his first start here. He then made the most of it by scoring another goal right away. He moved in front of Norbert Gyomber to score on a well timed glancing header from Valentin Gendrey's right-wing cross. However, Salernitana came close to scoring an equaliser right before the break when Antonio Candreva was set free by a brilliant Kastanos slide-rule ball. However, the goal was thwarted by a last-ditch stop from Wladimiro Falcone.