Both Cagliari and Fiorentina have different ambitions for the end of the season as they meet at the Sardegna Arena in Serie A on Monday afternoon.
The hosts are in 15th and just six points above the relegation zone with six games left to play. Their recent form has not been too bad though, as their 3-1 defeat at league leaders Inter Milan last time out was their first in three matches.
However, Cagliari have only won once in eight league games in all competitions, and Fiorentina have won the previous three H2Hs. The visitors are also in better form, as they are unbeaten in seven matches over all competitions.
Fiorentina have only won one of their previous four though, after drawing 2-2 at home to Celje in the UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) in midweek. They still advanced to the semi-finals 4-3 on aggregate, and will have their tails up after such a significant result.
How the bookies view it: Fiorentina slight favourites
Fiorentina are slight 11/8 favourites with BoyleSports to take home all three points, followed by a Cagliari victory at 19/10 and a draw at 2/1 with the same bookmaker.
Recent head-to-head: La Viola edge victory
In the reverse fixture in December, Fiorentina just emerged victorious with a 1-0 win courtesy of a Danilo Cataldi goal in the first half.
Players to watch: Mandragora in scoring form
Tommaso Augello has provided six assists so far this season, and the wing-back is one of Cagliari's biggest attacking threats.
Rolando Mandragora scored in both legs against Celje in the UECL, including in Fiorentina's most recent clash. He can be backed as far as 9/2 to score anytime on Monday.
Predicted lineups
Alessandro Deiola is suspended for Cagliari, but otherwise they have a fresh squad to choose from.
Matias Moreno, Dodo and Nicolo Zaniolo are all back from UEFA suspensions in midweek, while Pablo Mari will also be available for Fiorentina. Robin Gosens could also return to the starting XI, but Andrea Colpani is a fitness doubt.
Cagliari: Caprile, Zappa, Mina, Luperto, Zortea, Adopo, Makoumbou, Augello, Viola, Luvumbo, Piccoli.
Fiorentina: De Gea, Pongracic, Mari, Ranieri, Dodo, Mandragora, Cataldi, Fagioli, Gosens, Gudmundsson, Kean.
Anything else catch the eye?
As mentioned, Fiorentina have won the previous H2Hs, and will be favourites to make it a fourth. Thus, we need to be creative with the markets we choose, and looking for a handicap for the away team could prove very profitable.
BoyleSports are offering 4/1 for a -1 handicap for the visitors, a generous price. Those three Fiorentina wins have seen nine goals scored in total too at an average of three per game, so backing Over 2.5 total goals at 11/10 with the same bookmaker also seems a worthy punt.
This Serie A match between Cagliari and Fiorentina will be played on and kick off at 14:00. Check below for our tipsters best Cagliari vs Fiorentina prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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