Cagliari vs Torino – News and Probable Lineups

With just one point needed to secure their place in Serie A, Cagliari will take on mid-table Torino at Unipol Domus this Sunday, marking their last home game of the season.

In their previous match, Fabio Pisacane’s team failed to clinch safety, suffering a 2-0 defeat against Udinese, while Torino managed to edge past Sassuolo with a 2-1 victory.

Match overview

Currently out of reach from relegated teams Pisa and Hellas Verona, Cagliari only required a good result at home against Udinese to assure their status for the 2026-27 season, but they fell short in their attempt to gain valuable points.

Goals from Adam Buksa and Idrissa Gueye in the second half condemned Cagliari to their 17th defeat of the season, and with Cremonese’s victory over Pisa, Pisacane’s team still faces a challenge.

Nevertheless, with the hosts in 16th place, six points ahead of Cremonese and with only two matches left, a draw on Sunday would secure their survival. Even a defeat could be acceptable if their rivals fail to win against Udinese away.

As Cremonese is also set to play against high-flying Como on the last day, Cagliari, who have shown at least some improvement recently, can feel optimistic about maintaining their Serie A position, even with a tough match against AC Milan coming up.

Despite last week’s loss to Udinese, Cagliari has managed to gather a respectable 10 points from their last five Serie A matches, especially after collecting only eight points in the preceding ten matches.

As Cagliari seeks to secure mathematical survival, visiting side Torino still has a chance to break into the top half of the table in the concluding weeks, trailing six points behind their hosts’ recent conquerors, Udinese, in 10th place.

However, with Sassuolo sitting five points above Roberto D’Aversa’s squad in 11th position, Torino must secure maximum points in their last two fixtures against Cagliari and Juventus while hoping that their mid-table rivals falter to sneak into the top 10.

Realistically, solidifying their current standing is Torino’s primary goal, as they recently broke a three-match winless streak by coming from behind to beat Sassuolo in gameweek 36, thanks to goals from Giovanni Simeone and Marcus Pedersen.

Having conceded 59 goals this term, Torino has the weakest defense among teams not in the bottom two, and they’ve won only one of their last nine Serie A away matches—against the bottom-placed Pisa.

When these teams last met just after Christmas, Torino faced a 2-1 defeat at home to Cagliari, marking their second loss in three encounters against Sunday’s hosts, who also triumphed 3-2 in this fixture during the 2024-25 season.

Team News

Cagliari centre-back Ze Pedro, cautioned for the fifth time this season against Udinese, will miss this weekend’s match due to suspension, prompting Yerry Mina, a former Everton defender, to step into the back three.

ACL injury victims Mattia Felici, Riyad Idrissi, and Mateusz Wieteska remain on the long road to recovery, while Joseph Liteta (hamstring), Gennaro Borrelli (muscle), and Leonardo Pavoletti (knee) will also miss out.

However, experienced forward Andrea Belotti has recently returned from his own cruciate ligament tear, rejoining the club where he netted an impressive 113 goals from 2015 to 2022.

Shifting from former Torino players to current ones, Gvidas Gineitis, the Lithuanian midfielder, also received a yellow card in the victory over Sassuolo and will be sidelined for this match.

Cesare Casadei, a one-time Chelsea midfielder who has scored five goals this Serie A season, is likely to be a candidate to replace Gineitis.

For Torino, Ardian Ismajli (hamstring), Tino Anjorin (hip), and Zakaria Aboukhlal (knee) represent a trio of players out due to injury.

Cagliari probable starting XI:

Caprile; Rodriguez, Mina, Dossena; Zappa, Gaetano, Folorunsho, Adopo, Obert; Mendy, Esposito

Torino probable starting XI:

Paleari; Ebosse, Marianucci, Coco; Pedersen, Casadei, Prati, Obrador; Vlasic; Zapata, Simeone

Cagliari does not need to aggressively pursue a win this Sunday since only a point is required for survival; we believe Pisacane’s squad can secure that point on home turf.

Torino enters this match with only one defeat in their last six games, but they have struggled away all season and have little motivation to play for, making a low-key draw favorable for Cagliari.