Roma begin a new era under manager Danielle De Rossi as they travel to Cagliari for their opening Serie A fixture of the season. The capital club often do well against Cagliari and should have the upper hand on Monday.
Cagliari will be looking to avoid last season’s issues where they struggled for much of the campaign before finishing just one point above the relegation zone. They were not particularly convincing in preseason, claiming just one win from four matches.
Despite their unconvincing preseason, Cagliari have started competitive action on a positive note. They claimed a 2-1 victory over Carrarese in the Coppa Italia first round with Roberto Piccolo netting a brace.
Danielle De Rossi impressed for Roma last season after replacing Jose Mourinho midway through the campaign. The gaffer completely turned things around and led them to a sixth place finish and a spot in the Europa League.
Roma have been a bit busy in the transfer market, bringing in Artem Dovbyk and Matias Soule. They lost just once in preseason but also only claimed one win from five warm-up matches.
How the bookies view it: Roma to get the points
Roma have been installed as favourites among the bookies and are priced at 19/20 with Betfred. A victory for Cagliari is valued at 3/1 with Betfred, who is also offering odds of 5/2 for a draw.
Recent head to head: Roma always on top
Roma have a great record in this fixture and have won five of the last six matches against Cagliari. The capital club did the double last season, winning 4-1 at Unipol Domus before claiming a 4-0 victory in the reverse fixture at home.
Players to watch: Dybala to deliver
Paulo Dybala was the leading scorer for Roma last season with 13 Serie A goals and will be the one to watch on Sunday. The attacker scored twice in the last meeting with Cagliari and is priced at 2/1 by Betfred.
Gianluca Lapadula is expected to lead the line for Cagliari on Sunday and could be worth keeping an eye on. The veteran striker is priced at odds of 13/5 to get on the score sheet.
Probable line-ups
Lapadula came off the bench in the Coppa Italia and could be set to start on Sunday. Roberto Piccolo is also expected to feature in attack after netting a brace last week while Mateusz Wieteska is likely to retain his place in defence.
Paulo Dybala is expected to start in attack for Roma alongside summer signing Matias Soule. Captain Lorenzo Pellegrini should line up in midfield while Evan Ndicka is set to continue at the back.
Cagliari: Scuffet, Luperto, Wieteska, Zappa, Augello, Deiola, Marin, Paulo Azzi, Piccolo, Pavoletti, Lapadula
Roma; Svilar, Celik, Mancini, Ndicka, Angelino, Le Fee, Cristante, Pellegrini, Soule, Dybala, Dovbyk
Anything else catch the eye?
The last meeting at Unipol Domus produced over 3.5 goals, which is priced at 8/4 by Betfred. Over 2.5 goals could also be considered at 10/11 by Betfred, who is also offering odds of 8/11 on both teams to score.
Roma scored in both halves in the two meetings with Cagliari last season and a similar pattern is priced at 2/1 with Betfred.
This Serie A match between Cagliari and Roma will be played on Aug 18, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Cagliari vs Roma prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
