Cagliari vs Udinese – News and Probable Lineups

A win on Saturday afternoon would secure Cagliari’s place in the top division, as they prepare to host Udinese in Sardinia.

While they are on the brink of confirming their Serie A survival, the Rossoblu are in urgent need of all three points as compared to their mid-table guests.

Match overview

Having established a nine-point cushion above the relegation zone, Cagliari can secure their Serie A status with a victory in their second-to-last home fixture.

The team, usually engaged in relegation battles, is edging closer to safety, having recently triumphed over Atalanta 3-2 and securing a goalless draw against Bologna.

These results have left Lecce and Cremonese far behind in the struggle to avoid 18th place; however, the task is not yet complete.

As Fabio Pisacane’s first season as head coach nears its conclusion, the squad has begun to bolster their home performance, winning their last two games in Sardinia while netting four goals.

However, historical data isn’t in the Rossoblu’s favor this weekend, as they have not won any of their last six home encounters against Udinese, managing to score only three goals in that span.

In fact, since their 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture back in October, Udinese has only lost once in the last 13 Serie A meetings between the two teams.

Currently positioned 11th in the standings, the Friulani sit 10 points and five places clear of Cagliari, having garnered four points from their last two games.

In a thrilling contest that ended 3-3, Kosta Runjaic’s side was denied a victory by a late equalizer from Lazio; however, they rebounded by defeating their mid-table rivals Torino, keeping their aspirations for a top-half finish alive.

Even Runjaic would acknowledge that his team can be erratic, but achieving back-to-back wins for the first time since February would definitely assist in their competitive fight for a top-10 finish alongside Sassuolo.

Before making the lengthy trip south for Saturday’s match, Udinese has gone unbeaten in four away fixtures, scoring at least twice each time, giving them solid reason to anticipate a favorable outcome.

Team News

Cagliari is hoping to see the return of central midfielder Luca Mazzitelli, but several players may remain unavailable due to injuries.

Alessandro Deiola, Mattia Felici, Riyad Idrissi, Juan Rodriguez, Joseph Liteta, and veteran striker Leonardo Pavoletti are all sidelined, and Gennaro Borrelli is considered a significant doubt.

Rookie forward Paul Mendy, who recently scored two goals in eight minutes against Atalanta, was only able to feature as a late substitute last week but is now in contention to start.

He will need to compete with Semih Kilicsoy and Andrea Belotti for a spot alongside Sebastiano Esposito in attack, although Pisacane has favored Michael Folorunsho in a more advanced position recently.

Both Esposito and Nicolo Zaniolo from Udinese have recorded 11 goal involvements in Serie A this season, but the visitors’ primary scorer is Keinan Davis.

After missing three matches, the English striker is back to full training, alongside the fit-again defender Nicola Bertola.

Bertola’s return is timely since Christian Kabasele will serve a suspension due to accumulated yellow cards, and wing-backs Jordânia Zemura and Alessandro Zanoli are also out due to injuries.

Cagliari probable starting XI:

Caprile; Ze Pedro, Mina, Dossena; Palestra, Sulemana, Gaetano, Adopo, Obert; Folorunsho; Esposito

Udinese probable starting XI:

Okoye; Bertola, Kristensen, Solet; Ehizibue, Atta, Ekkelenkamp, ​​Miller, Kamara; Zaniolo, Davis

Aiming to delay the celebration for the hosts, Udinese looks set to maintain their strong recent form against Cagliari.

With a solid midfield presence and a more effective attacking line, the Friulani are likely to take three points back home after the long journey.