Napoli vs Cagliari Preview: Team News & Prediction
by Alex Lawes ·
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Defending champions Napoli have started the campaign well as Antonio Conte’s side now return to Naples with the visit of Cagliari to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Kick-off date/time:
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Napoli preview: Defending the title
Unusually for both Antonio Conte and Aurelio Di Laurentiis, Napoli have had a very calm summer and their summer business has also been quite impressive, with the additions of the likes of Sam Beukema, Kevin De Bruyne and Lorenzo Lucca.
The Neapolitans began their campaign with an impressive and comfortable 2-0 defeat of newly-promoted Sassuolo last weekend. They weren’t overly dominant but found it easy enough thanks to goals from De Bruyne and Scott McTominay.
Cagliari preview: Steady Sardinians
On the opening day of the season, Cagliari started with a 1-1 draw against Fiorentina at the Sardegna Arena in Sardinia, earning a point in dramatic fashion thanks to a Sebastiano Luperto equaliser deep into second-half stoppage-time.
Over the summer, Davide Nicola has departed the Sardinians for Cremonese, and he has been replaced by Fabio Pisacane, who played over 150 games for Cagliari between 2015 and 2021, in his first managerial role.
Napoli team news: No need to change
Romelu Lukaku is still unavailable for Napoli this weekend, and new signing Miguel Gutierrez is also sidelined, but there is no need for the hosts to make any changes.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Juan, Mathias Olivera; Lobotka, Anguissa; De Bruyne, McTominay, Politano; Lucca
Unavailable: Miguel Gutierrez (Injured), Lukaku (Injured)
Questionable:
Cagliari team news: Nothing fresh
There are no fresh injury concerns or suspension issues for Cagliari to deal with this weekend, but attacker Leonardo Pavoletti does remain a doubt due to a thigh injury.
Predicted XI (4-1-2-1-2): Caprile; Zappa, Yerry Mina, Luperto, Obert; Prati; Adopo, Deiola; Esposito; Borrelli, Folorunsho
Unavailable:
Questionable: Pavoletti (Injured)
Napoli vs Cagliari prediction
Napoli, and especially Conte, have shown a lot of flexibility and tactical ingenuity in the last year or so, and the expectation will be for them to continue to do that. They are still moulding what squad they want but, with home advantage, they will be expected to get on the front foot. Cagliari perhaps benefitted from Fiorentina’s fatigue from their European exploits, and so siding with a comfortable Napoli victory is a good bet.
Napoli vs Cagliari tip: Napoli to win to nil
