Cremonese vs. Napoli: Emil Audero Has the Chance to Stop the "Little Donkey"

CREMONA, SATURDAY - Napoli will face an easy match, at least on paper, when they visit the Giovanni Zini Stadium, the home of Cremonese, on Sunday (28/12/2025) at 21:00 WIB. Although favored to bring home three points, Cremonese's goalkeeper and the Indonesian national team, Emil Audero, has the potential to hinder Napoli's progress in the top-tier competition.

Audero is currently experiencing one of his best seasons in the top tier of Italian competition. His collection of five matches without conceding a goal is key for Audero in helping Cremonese break into the mid-table in the Italian League 2025-2026.

The last time, the goalkeeper born in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, recorded five clean sheets in a single competition during the 2021-2022 season, which was four seasons ago. At that time, Audero was still wearing the Sampdoria jersey.

The best clean sheet record of Audero was established in the 2018-2019 season. He played 36 matches for "Il Samp" with a record of 11 games without conceding a goal. This record has the potential to be improved upon in the current season.

Having just conceded 12 goals, Audero still has a long season ahead with Cremonese. The number of games in which Audero has not conceded is already on par with two goalkeepers from major teams, namely Mike Maignan representing AC Milan and Michele Di Gregorio wearing the Juventus jersey. Certainly, Audero's performance deserves high praise as he defends 'I Grugiorossi,' who have a lower quality of defensive players compared to Milan and Juve.

I still have a resolution regarding the defeat against Torino. However, we have responded by bringing home a point from Rome (0-0 against Lazio).

Audero conceded 11 goals. If averaged per game, he only allowed 0.9 goals per match. Among the 20 starting goalkeepers who played in the Italian League, only five goalkeepers have a better average of goals conceded per game than Audero.

In addition, the 28-year-old goalkeeper recorded the most saves with an average of 3.9 saves per match. Audero's save rate reached 81 percent of the total shots on target he faced. This again represents the highest save percentage in the Italian League, a competition known for its focus on strong defense.

Audero remains unsatisfied with his performance. When asked to discuss his performances this season, the goalkeeper, who has four caps for the Indonesian national team, feels both joy and regret. One of the most frustrating moments for Audero was the 1-0 defeat to Torino on December 13th. In that match, Audero made five saves.

"I still have a resolution regarding the defeat to Torino. However, we have responded by bringing home points from Rome (0-0 against Lazio). We want to continue our good journey so far, not only concerning the final results but also the overall performance of the team," said Audero as reported on the club's website, Saturday (27/12/2025).

With Audero's brilliant performance, Cremonese's chances of earning points against Napoli, the defending champion, are very promising. From five goalless games with Audero, I Grigiorossi secured two victories and three draws.

Although they have just won the Supercoppa Italiana trophy, Napoli's performance remains inconsistent. They often run out of ideas to break down the solid defense of their opponents. This was last evident when Napoli lost 0-1 to Udinese on December 14.

Therefore, nothing is impossible for Cremonese to end their 31-year wait to conquer Napoli with a clean sheet at home. The last home victory record of Cremonese against Napoli was created on September 11, 1994. At that time, Audero, who was born on January 18, 1997, had not yet taken a breath in this world.

"We will follow the coach's instructions to showcase our style of play. We will present a game with great spirit to bring happiness to the supporters as a Christmas gift," said Audero, a graduate of the Juve Academy.

Cremonese coach Davide Nicola stated that the balance of his team's play is the key to accumulating 21 points from 16 matches, leaving them just four points away from sixth place, which is the threshold for European club competition.

"In periods without possession, it's crucial for us to defend solidly and anticipate the opponent's dangerous chances. We don't want to play at the risk of losing, as it's crucial to concede as few goals as possible in the competition," Nicola said, as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Meanwhile, Napoli coach Antonio Conte aims to bring the positive performance from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, by returning with the Supercoppa Italiana trophy to the domestic competition. Conte demands his players to quickly shift their focus in order to get back on the positive track in Serie A.

"We have to realize that hard work is the key to climbing the table. At the very least, we can't afford to lose ground in the Champions League places," Conte said, as reported by Sky Sport Italia.

If they fail to earn points in the Italian League again, as in the last match against Udinese, Napoli will not only fall further behind Inter Milan and AC Milan at the top, but they also risk being surpassed by AS Roma and Juventus, who are in fourth and fifth place, respectively.