Cagliari vs AS Roma prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-10-07 16:00.
Cagliari’s return to Serie A (SA) has been far from ideal so far after registering a fifth defeat of the season at the hands of Fiorentina last time out. That leaves them with just two points from the opening seven rounds for the first time in their SA history, a record that will have coach Claudio Ranieri concerned as both sides who had fewer than three points after eight matchdays over the past four seasons suffered relegation!
As a result, getting more points on the board here is crucial as Ranieri is likely to ring the changes by finally switching back to his favoured 4-3-3 formation. Whether that will have an immediate impact here is uncertain given the fact that Cagliari have only won one of their last 16 league matches against Roma (D4, L11), although they did avoid defeat in two of their last four H2Hs here (W1, D1, L2), scoring nine goals across those four games.
It hasn’t been an ideal start to the new campaign for last season's UEFA Europa League runners-up Roma either as their 2-0 win over Frosinone on Sunday was only their second league victory in seven attempts (D2, L3). On top of that, coach José Mourinho is again plagued by injuries but an impressive 4-0 home win over Servette in midweek European action should have at least enhanced squad morale to a degree.
The Portuguese coach’s future at the club remains in doubt according to some reports after suffering his worst start to a season in his career, which included an embarrasing 4-1 defeat at the hands of Cagliari’s fellow newcomers Genoa in Roma’s last away outing. It’s safe to say that improvement is needed quickly away from home then, as the Giallorossi have lost two of their three SA away matches this campaign (D1).
Players to watch: Cagliari’s Andrea Petagna has scored three goals against Roma in his career, whilst six of his last seven goals came after HT. Paulo Dybala inspired Roma’s win over Frosinone with two assists and he boasts an almost perfect record across his personal meetings with Cagliari (W9, D1).
Hot stat: Ahead of this round, Cagliari were one of only two SA teams yet to score after HT.