Cagliari host Venezia in a Friday night Italian Serie A fixture as they go in search of their first win of the season. The hosts will consider themselves unlucky to be winless this term despite producing a few decent performances. They and will fancy their chances at home against an unconvincing Venezia team.
Cagliari are coming off a 2-0 defeat at Napoli in their previous Serie A fixture. They had a few chances to score but were ultimately no match for the superior quality of the Serie A leaders.
Walter Mazzarri’s men are 19th with two draws this season but will feel some of their performances have deserved a win. They looked on the verge of a famous victory at Lazio before conceding a late equaliser to settle for a 2-2 draw.
Cagliari have kept no clean sheets in their six matches this season as defending appears to be a major problem for the hosts. They have thrown away the lead a few times this term, including a two-goal advantage in their 3-2 defeat to Genoa.
Venezia were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Torino last time out in Serie A. Mattia Aramu struck a second half equaliser from the penalty spot and despite seeing out the match with a man advantage, they failed to find the winner.
Making a first appearance in Serie A since the 2001/02 season, Venezia have found it difficult adapting to the topflight. Paolo Zanetti’s men are also down in the relegation zone, just two points above the hosts having claimed just one win from their opening six matches.
Like Cagliari, Venezia have also struggled at the back and have one of the worst defences in Serie A. They have conceded in all six matches this season with a 3-0 loss to Udinese their biggest defeat so far.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have installed Cagliari as overwhelming favourites for the win at 3/4 with SBK. A victory for Venezia is priced at 4/1 by bet365 while Unibet is offering 29/10 for a draw.
Recent head to head
Cagliari are unbeaten in five of the last six matches against Venezia. They have claimed three wins in that run and triumphed 2-1 in the last meeting between both teams during the 2004/05 Serie B season.
Players to watch
Cagliari often channel much of their attacking plays through Joao Pedro and the Brazilian striker has scored four Serie A goals this season. He will be the one to watch on Friday and is priced at 6/5 by Skybet to find the net.
Venezia have spread their goals across the team this season but Mattia Aramu could be worth keeping an eye on. The forward was on target last time out against Torino and is valued at 4/1 with Paddy Power in the anytime goalscorer market.
Anything else catch the eye?
Given the defensive problems of Cagliari and Venezia, goals can be expected in Friday’s clash. Both teams can be tipped to score at 5/6 with MansionBet while over 2.5 goals could also be considered at 5/6 with SBK.
Cagliari have shown some attacking quality this season and can be tipped to earn a win and over 2.5 goals at 13/8 with BoyleSport.
This Serie A match between Cagliari and Venezia will be played on Oct 1, 2021 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Cagliari vs Venezia prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.