Monza vs Cagliari Preview: Team News & Prediction
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Monza are under new management but it didn’t bring about a change in their results last week as they continue to languish at the bottom ahead of welcoming struggling Cagliari this weekend.
Kick-off date/time: Sunday 5th January, 2025: UK – 11:30am / US ET – 6:30am / US PT – 3:30am
How to watch on TV: UK – Not televised / US – Select matches will be televised on CBS Sports so it is worth checking their schedule
How to watch online: UK – OneFootball / US – Paramount+
Monza Preview: Bocchetti in at Monza
Following the departure of Raffaele Palladino over the summer, Alessandro Nesta was appointed but the AC Milan legend struggled badly throughout the first-half of the campaign with Salvatore Bocchetti now tasked with leading them away from bottom-of-the-table.
Bocchetti’s first game in charge saw Monza suffer a 2-1 defeat to Parma at the Ennio Tardini in a game in which they were down to ten men for over half an hour and eventually conceded in the 98th minute due to a strike from Lautaro Valenti late on.
Cagliari Preview: Sardinian strugglers
Throughout the opening few months of the campaign, Cagliari supporters were protesting manager Davide Nicola but they did improve. However, following that brief improvement, they now begin this weekend’s round of fixtures back in the bottom three and the relegation zone.
The Sardinians come into this one on the back of a 3-0 hammering at the hands of defending champions Internazionale at the Sardegna Arena last weekend due to goals from Alessandro Bastoni, Lautaro Martinez and Hakan Calhanoglu. They have now lost four in a row in Serie A.
Monza Team News: Pablo Mari suspension
As mentioned, Monza were down to ten men last weekend and that was because of Pablo Mari’s red card so he is now sidelined due to suspension. Georgios Kyriakopoulos and Roberto Gagliardini both have issues to deal with ahead of the weekend, too.
Predicted XI (3-4-1-2): Turati; Izzo, Postiglione, D’Ambrosio; Birindelli, Bondo, Bianco, Carboni; Ciurria; Maldini, Caprari
Unavailable: Cragno (Injured), Pablo Mari (Suspended), Pessina (Injured)
Questionable: Kyriakopoulos (Injured), Caldirola (Injured), Gagliardini (Injured), Vignato (Injured), Dany Mota (Injured)
Cagliari Team News: Couple of injuries
Cagliari have a couple of injury issues at either end of the pitch ahead of the trip to Lombardy. Colombia international centre-back Yerry Mina is a doubt due to a calf issue alongside Angola international attacker Zito Luvumbo, who has an ankle injury.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Scuffet; Zappa, Yerry Mina, Luperto, Obert; Adopo, Makoumbou; Zortea, Gaetano, Augello; Piccoli
Unavailable:
Questionable: Yerry Mina (Injured), Luvumbo (Injured)
Monza vs Cagliari Prediction
Monza and Cagliari are two of the weaker sides in the league, as shown by the table, and it would be no surprise to see the two sides make up 66% of the bottom three by the end of the season. They will both be expected to improve after potentially busy winter transfer windows but a good value bet here could be to side with Monza with a new manager in place, an improvement in their performance level last weekend and having home advantage for this one.
Monza vs Cagliari Tip: Double chance – Monza to win or draw
