Cagliari host Torino in a Friday night Serie A fixture with both teams looking to snap out of a difficult patch. The home side are desperate to extend the gap between themselves and the relegation zone and given their recent record at Unipol Domus, should have the upper hand over Torino.
Cagliari are coming off a 3-1 defeat to Frosinone in their previous Serie A fixture. Ibrahim Sulemana opened the scoring midway through the first half but they went on to suffer a defensive capitulation – something that has become a regular occurrence this season.
Things have been fairly difficult for Cagliari, in recent weeks as they have picked up just one win from their last seven matches across all competitions. Sitting just one point above the bottom three, they will be keen to put more daylight between themselves and the relegation zone.
One positive for Cagliari is that Unipol Domus has become a bit of a fortress as they are unbeaten in their last six home matches. Claudio Ranieri’s men have picked up four wins in that run, including a 2-1 victory over Bologna in their previous fixture in front of their fans.
Torino travel to Unipol Domus off the back of a 0-0 draw with Genoa last time out in Serie A. They were lucky to come away with that point having failed to muster a single attempt on target while the hosts were also wasteful in attack.
Like Cagliari, Torino have also struggled to find their best form lately with just one win from their last four matches. Ivan Juric’s men are just inside the top 10 and will be keen to attack the European places in the second half of the season and they sit just five points behind sixth placed Lazio.
One of the major problems for Torino is a poor record on their travels having picked up just one win from their last eight away matches across all competitions. They also struggle for goals away from home, failing to score in six matches in that run.
How the bookies view it
Torino have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 5/4 by Betfred to claim the win. A victory for Cagliari is valued at 5/1 by William Hill while a draw is set at odds of 11/4 with Unibet.
Head to head
Torino have a 15-12 advantage with 14 draws from 41 previous matches against Cagliari. However, Cagliari are unbeaten in five of the last six meetings, claiming three wins in that run, although both teams battled to a 0-0 draw in the reverse fixture back in August.
Players to watch
Luciano Pavolleti is the top scorer for Cagliari with four Serie A goals and will be the one to watch on Friday. He is the man often tasked with leading the line and is priced at 15/4 by bet365 to get on the score sheet.
Torino will be keen to take advantage of Cagliari’s defensive frailties and Antonio Sanabria could be worth keeping an eye on. He often carries much of the Turin club’s attacking threat and is priced at 9/4 by bet365 to find the net on Friday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Cagliari often know how to find their way to goal and given their defensive vulnerability, both teams could be backed to score at 21/20 with William Hill. The hosts saw over 3.5 goals in their previous fixture and a repeat is priced at 18/5 with BetVictor while over 2.5 goals is valued at 7/5 by bet365.
The home side opened the scoring in their previous home fixture and could be backed to grab the first goal on Friday at 6/4 with BoyleSports.
This Serie A match between Cagliari and Torino will be played on Jan 26, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Cagliari vs Torino prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
