Cagliari entertain Udinese at the Sardegna Arena on Saturday as Serie A action returns over the weekend after midweek Coppa Italia second-round fixtures in Italy.
The hosts, winless in their last nine Serie A outings, returned to winning ways in the Coppa Italia as they defeated Serie B side Cittadella 3-1 on Wednesday.
They suffered a 4-0 loss at the San Siro to league leaders Inter Milan last week as they conceded three goals in the second half.
Udinese are winless in their last five Serie A games and were held to a 1-1 draw by AC Milan last week.
Udinese recorded a 4-0 win over Crotone in their Coppa Italia second-round fixture on Wednesday.
Cagliari vs Udinese Head-to-Head
There have been 65 meetings between the two sides across all competitions. Udinese have the better record against the hosts with 28 wins to their name. Cagliari have 17 wins to their name while the spoils have been shared 20 times between them.
They have been evenly matched in their last 11 games, with five wins for each side and one game ending in a draw. They last squared off at Dacia Arena in April. The game ended in a 1-0 win for Gli Isolani thanks to Joao Pedro's second-half goal. It was the first win for the hosts in this fixture since 2018.
Cagliari form guide (all competitions): W-L-D-D-D
Udinese form guide (all competitions): W-D-L-D-D
Cagliari vs Udinese Team News
Cagliari
Nahitán Nández did not feature in the Coppa Italia fixture and is a doubt for the game with a hamstring issue. Here are the rest of the absentees for the hosts:
- Kevin Strootman - Knee injury
- Sebastian Walukiewicz - Hip injury
- Marko Rog - Knee injury
- Riccardo Ladinetti - Undislclosed
Injured: Marko Rog, Riccardo Ladinetti, Sebastian Walukiewicz, Kevin Strootman
Doubtful: Nahitan Nandez
Suspended: None
Udinese
Roberto Pereyra is ruled out with a shoulder injury and is not expected to be back anytime soon. There are no other injury concerns for the Friulani.
Isaac Success picked up a straight red card against AC Milan, after coming on as a substitute in the 70th minute and is suspended for the game.
Injured: Roberto Pereyra
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Isaac Success
Cagliari vs Udinese Predicted XI
Cagliari Predicted XI (3-5-2): Alessio Cragno; Diego Godin, Andrea Carboni, Martín Cáceres; Raoul Bellanova, Răzvan Marin, Alessandro Deiola, Alberto Grassi, Dalbert Henrique; Keita Baldé, Joao Pedro
Udinese Predicted XI (3-5-2): Marco Silvestri; Samir, Bram Nuytinck, Rodrigo Becao; Iyenoma Udogie, Nahuel Molina, Walace, Tolgay Arslan, Ignacio Pussetto; Gerard Deulofeu, Beto
Cagliari vs Udinese Prediction
Cagliari have the second-worst attacking stats in Serie A with just 17 goals in 17 games. They are winless in their home fixtures since October, so a win over 15th-placed Udinese seems unlikely.
The visiting side are winless in their travels since September but have managed to score half of their goals in their away games. All things considered, a stalemate between the two sides is our prediction here.
Prediction: Cagliari 2-2 Udinese