Cagliari vs Inter Milan Preview: Team News & Prediction
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On the island of Sardinia, Cagliari have slipped into the bottom three and the relegation places as they now prepare to welcome defending champions Internazionale to the isle this weekend.
Kick-off date/time: Saturday 28th December, 2024: UK – 5:00pm / US ET – 12:00pm / US PT – 9:00am
How to watch on TV: UK – TNT Sports / US – Select matches will be televised on CBS Sports so it is worth checking their schedule
How to watch online: UK – TNT Sports & OneFootball / US – Paramount+
Cagliari Preview: Pressure on Nicola
Davide Nicola was given the task of trying to take Cagliari on this season following the retirement of Claudio Ranieri over the summer. A poor start prompted supporter protests before steadying themselves but they once again sit inside the bottom three.
The Sardinians come into this one on the back of a 2-1 defeat to fellow strugglers Venezia in Venice last weekend in a game in which they were 2-0 down inside 67 minutes. That means the home team have now suffered four successive defeats across all competitions.
Inter Milan Preview: Nerazzurri sweeping teams aside
Simone Inzaghi’s Internazionale come into this one on the back of a comfortable and impressive 2-0 defeat of Como at San Siro last weekend thanks to second-half strikes from Douglas Augusto and Marcus Thuram in what was a hard-fought victory for Inter.
The Nerazzurri had previously annihilated fellow title challengers Lazio by six goals to nil at the Stadio Olimpico the week before and they haven’t been as strong as when they won the title last season but they have now enjoyed four straight wins in Serie A.
Cagliari Team News: Couple of doubts
Cagliari have a couple of injury concerns at either end of the pitch ahead of facing Inter this weekend with former Everton centre-back Yerry Mina dealing with a calf issue whilst Angola international Zito Luvumbo is also an injury doubt.
Predicted XI (3-5-1-1): Sherri; Zappa, Wieteska, Luperto; Zortea, Adopo, Makoumbou, Deiola, Augello; Gaetano; Piccoli
Unavailable:
Questionable: Yerry Mina (Injured), Luvumbo (Injured)
Inter Milan Team News: Defensive issues
Former Lazio defender Francesco Acerbi and former Bayern Munich man Benjamin Pavard are both unavailable due to injury for this weekend with experienced club captain Matteo Darmian also an injury doubt due to a knee issue.
Predicted XI (3-5-2): Sommer; Bisseck, Bastoni, Carlos Augusto; Dumfries, Mkhitaryan, Calhanoglu, Barella, Dimarco; Lautaro Martinez, Thuram
Unavailable: Di Gennaro (Injured), Acerbi (Injured), Pavard (Injured)
Questionable: Darmian (Injured)
Cagliari vs Inter Milan Prediction
Cagliari are under increasing pressure and Davide Nicola is taking a fair bit of stick as Cagliari look destined for the drop. The Sardinians have suffered three successive losses ahead of this weekend. They now face an Inter side that have seemingly rediscovered their more cohesive style at both ends of the pitch as they appear the likeliest side to regain their title, beginning the weekend three points off top spot with a game-in-hand and Inter are firm favourites for a comfortable win at the Sardegna Arena.
Cagliari vs Inter Milan Tip: Inter to win -1 handicap