Cagliari vs AC Milan prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2026-01-01 19:45.
[p]Serie A’s first game of 2026 sees mid-table Cagliari host title-contenders AC Milan, who haven’t lost a league game since matchday one.[/p]
[p]Match News and Current Form[/p]
[p]Cagliari beat Torino 2-1 on Saturday, ending 2025 in 14th place in Serie A after winning two of their last four league fixtures (D1, L1). They’ve beaten only one side who currently sit inside the top 12 this term so the Islanders would appear to be appropriately positioned, although this is still their best 17-game points haul in the top flight since 2019/20, so they will start the new year in a positive mood. Their recent home form has been solid (W1, D2), although conceding first in two of those three games will be a concern for Fabio Pisacane’s side.[/p]
[p]Milan finished 2025 with a flourish by beating Verona 3-0 on Sunday to extend their unbeaten run in Serie A to 15 matches (W10, D5) and close the calendar year just one point and one place behind league leaders and city rivals Inter Milan. A welcome first clean sheet in the league for almost a month helped them bounce back from losing in the Super Cup to Napoli just before Christmas and as the Rossoneri are yet to lose an away league game this season (W4, D3), they’ll be hopeful of starting 2026 on a high.[/p]
[p]Head-to-Head History[/p]
[p]Cagliari haven’t beaten Milan since a 2-1 success at home in May 2017 (D4, L11) although two of those draws were last term. Milan have won three of the last five meetings here by a two-goal margin.[/p]
[p]Hot Stats and Streaks[/p]
[p]Five of Cagliari’s last six Serie A games saw both teams score.[/p]
[p]Three of Cagliari’s last four home league fixtures produced over 2.5 goals.[/p]
[p]Milan scored exactly one first-half goal in each of their last three Serie A fixtures.[/p]
[p]Three of Milan’s last four league away games saw both teams score.[/p]
[p]Key Players to Watch and Missing Players[/p]
[p]Semih Kılıçsoy has scored in Cagliari’s last two fixtures while each of his last four club goals arrived after the 55th minute. All three of Christopher Nkunku’s goals for Milan since joining in the summer were netted between half-time and the 55th minute, including both strikes against Verona on Sunday.[/p]
[p]Cagliari have several players injured, with Michael Folorunsho recently joining the likes of Andrea Belotti and Mattia Felici on the sidelines. Milan are likely to still be without injured trio Matteo Gabbia, Santiago Giménez and Rafael Leão.[/p]
[p]For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre.[/p]
[p]Betting Analysis[/p]
[p]It’s hard to see past another win for the high-flying visitors given their form but Cagliari can be a tough side to break down, so our tip is to back both teams to score instead.[/p]
[p][i]Author: John Pennington[/i][/p]