Serie A Preview: Cagliari vs Milan – Team news, Line-ups & Prediction | OneFootball

Unipol Domus is the venue as relegation-battling Cagliari and title-bidding Milan go head-to-head in a high-stakes Serie A encounter. Saturday’s clash in Sardinia arrives at an opportune moment for the visitors.

As for Cagliari, Davide Nicola’s future at the Unipol Domus hangs by a thread. The Islanders slumped to a 2-1 away defeat to Lazio on Monday. They lost Michel Adopo and Yerry Mina to sending-offs in the process. Therefore, the situation is far from ideal in the home camp.

Indeed, they commence this matchday only a point clear of the bottom three. Three consecutive defeats in the build-up to this match-up don’t bode well for Nicola. The 51-year-old faces an opponent he has notoriously struggled against during his managerial career.

Except for a solitary win while in charge of Genoa in March 2020, Nicola has gone winless in his eight remaining encounters against Milan (D3, L5). Now’s not a good time to take on the Rossoneri.

Brimming with confidence after a stunning 3-1 UEFA Champions League win against Real Madrid on Tuesday, Milan head to Sardinia seeking their second consecutive Serie A win. Tijjani Reijnders scored a match-winner in a hard-earned 1-0 triumph at Monza last weekend.

The in-form Dutch midfielder was also on the scoresheet at the Santiago Bernabeu. Alvaro Morata and Malick Thiaw netted the other two in Milan’s scintillating victory, which increased their hopes of securing automatic last-16 qualification.

Match Preview

Cagliari

In addition to Nicola’s underwhelming record against Milan, Cagliari’s struggles in this fixture are long-standing. They’ve only defeated the Rossoneri once since 1999, losing 31 of their 40 meetings in that stretch (D8).

As if that’s not concerning enough, the Islanders have lost two clashes against Milan in 2024 by 4+ goals ‘to one.’ Whether they can trouble the scoreboard this time remains questionable. Cagliari have failed to find the back of the net in four of their six home league outings this term.

With that in mind, it’s hardly surprising they’ve only won once (W1, D2, L3). Ominously, all three defeats saw them go down to multi-goal margins without scoring, suggesting this could be a long evening for the home faithful.

A lack of firepower is the least of Cagliari’s problems. They’ve been leaking goals at an alarming rate, keeping just two clean sheets across their last 23 home matches in Serie A.

Milan

Confidence is at an all-time high in Paulo Fonseca’s corner. Despite all the negativity during his early days at San Siro, Tuesday’s win in Madrid could be a turning point for his Milan side. After losing three of their first four games outside their iconic home venue (D1), they’ve won the last two on the trot.

Stuck just outside the European qualification spots in Serie A, they desperately need to make it three on the trot. It would be the ultimate confidence booster ahead of November’s international break. And there’s no better place than the Unipol Domus to help Milan achieve this feat, considering this has been a happy hunting ground for them historically.

They have beaten Cagliari in their last four meetings at this stadium. Three of those triumphs yielded a clean sheet, which is significant given Milan’s early defensive issues under Fonseca. Barring the abovementioned win at Monza, they’ve failed to shut out their opposition in six remaining away games this season.

Team News

With Adopo and Mina suspended, Cagliari could turn to Razvan Marin and Jose Luis Palomino to fill the vacancies. Luckily for Nicola, he has no injury concerns on his plate. Zito Luvumbo, whose first Serie A goal came against Milan, will likely be the hosts’ attacking cornerstone.

As for the visitors, long-term absentees Alessandro Florenzi, Matteo Gabbia, and Ismael Bennacer are still recovering from their injury setbacks. Samuel Chukwueze could return to the starting XI at the expense of Yunus Musah, who impressed in Madrid.

Cagliari vs Milan Potential Starting Line-ups

Cagliari (4-2-3-1): Simone Scuffet; Gabriele Zappa, Jose Luis Palomino, Sebastiano Luperto, Tommaso Augello; Razvan Marin, Antoine Makoumbou; Nadir Zortea, Gianluca Gaetano, Zito Luvumbo; Roberto Piccoli.

Milan (4-2-3-1): Mike Maignan; Emerson Royal, Fikayo Tomori, Strahinja Pavlovic, Theo Hernandez; Tijjani Reijnders, Youssouf Fofana; Samuel Chukwueze, Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao; Alvaro Morata.

Cagliari vs Milan Prediction

Milan may not be the best version of themselves this season. But they’re still in far better shape than Cagliari and should routinely take three points home.