Fiorentina vs Cagliari prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-10-01 18:45.
Fiorentina will be kicking themselves that they let a 1-0 lead slip at Frosinone on Thursday, meaning they sit just outside the European places heading into the latest round of fixtures as a result. That means Vincenzo Italiano’s men have already given away four points after scoring first in Serie A (SA) this season, points which had they not dropped, would see them jointly top-of-the-table.
La Viola ought not to be too despondent though, as they last lost a Serie A (SA) game at their Stadio Artemio Franchi fortress way back in February (W6, D4). That run is supplemented by a four-game unbeaten run in Tuscany against Monday night’s opponents Cagliari (W2, D2), and the omens look good for extending that with Italiano yet to experience defeat against opposite number Claudio Ranieri, earning a win and a draw when the pair managed Spezia and Sampdoria respectively back in 2021.
Winless and rock-bottom of SA, Cagliari are in desperate need of three points (D2, L4), having been beaten for the second time already in 2023/24 after scoring the opening goal. The most recent such occasion was during their 3-1 defeat against AC Milan in midweek, when a five-minute lapse before half-time in which they conceded twice proved their undoing. And for a side who have netted just four times in all competitions this term, leaking goals at that rate often kills their chance of victory.
Leaking goals and struggling to score them isn’t a great combination for Cagliari, who only made an immediate return to Italy’s top flight via the play-offs in June. They can at least cling to the fact that they have drawn on each of their last two visits to Tuscany against Pisa and Empoli, but given they’ve won just twice away to Fiorentina since the 1972/73 season (D7, L25), it’s hard to believe that run won’t end with a defeat here.
Players to watch: Nicolás González is Fiorentina’s top scorer in all competitions this season with five goals while he also scored the second goal in a 3-0 win at home to Cagliari in October 2021. The Islanders’ best chance of a spark undoubtedly lies with Zito Luvumbo, who has netted both of their league goals this term and seen four of his last six strikes come in the opening 30 minutes of a match.
Hot streak: Fiorentina scored in each of their last 11 home SA games.