Italian Serie A
2024-08-18 - Cagliari vs AS Roma
A Sports Betting Pick by Cafa
Italy Serie A - Round 1
Unipol Domus, Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy (16,416)
Sunday, 18th August 2024, 20:45 CET
Free live streaming at Bet365. Funded account required.
Cagliari Team News
It is a testament to the otherworldly talents of Claudio Ranieri that Cagliary secured a stay in Serie A, and this season is a gift from the now retired manager. What a swan song it was.
If we'll be pragmatic like he was, and we must be, then we must say that Cagliary is almost certainly getting relegated this time around because Ranieri is the ingredient that kept them afloat.
Expect a good performance here and there, a win on their home stadium against some beatable opponent, and a long stream of away defeats.
Roma Team News
The biggest thing that Roma got going for them is that Daniele De Rossi has been with this team for a while and that this is his first real season. The coach who replaced Jose Mourinho showed glimpses of brilliance last season, and this time around Roma could start playing even better.
There's no Romelu Lukaku anymore, the man who can rescue every single offensively-challenged team in Europe with his one-man offense, so it remains to be seen how efficient will Roma be up front. Especially if Paulo Dybala leaves too.
However, Mathias Soule is here after a phenomenal season on the wing for Frosinone, Tammy Abraham is healthy, and Artem Dovbyk and Enzo Le Fee were brought in too, so De Rossi has enough to work with and it's up to him alone to create an offensive game plan that produces goals. More likely than not, De Rossi will make it, so we'll take a punt on Roma in the early stages of the season.
Probable Lineups
Cagliari (3-5-2): Scuffet - Zappa, Wieteska, Luperto - Felici, Deiola, Prati, Marin, Augello - Luvumbo, Piccoli. Coach Nicola.
Roma (4-2-3-1): Svilar - Celik, Mancini, Ndicka, Angelino - Pellegrini, Cristante, Le Fee - El Sharaawy, Dovbyk, Soule. Coach De Rossi.
Cagliari is switching from 4-2-3-1 to 3-5-2 with largely the same squad, sans Ranieri. Roma will be without Lukaku and Dybala compared to last season, and Dovbyk and Soule will be asked to make an immediate impact, as well as Le Fee.
The Betting Market
The bookmakers aren't convinced in Roma's quality as the price on the away win is almost 2.00 despite Cagliari clearly being one of the most serious relegation candidates. The perceived advantage of the home field certainly has a lot to do with this price. As with other games in this round, the Over/Under and BTTS Yes/No are split down the middle, with BTTS: Yes the only outcome that's a tad more likely at 1.80.
The Betting Verdict
Cagliari will be forced into their own box for the duration of the match, and Roma will score a few goals. Even the lesser sides did it to Cagliari - in Cagliari - so Roma with De Rossi's offensive style will certainly manage to do it.
This is only a question of whether a game that's played on one goal only will end in favour of the team that's attacking. We say it surely will. Roma is finding a way to win on the road since De Rossi took over. Full stake on this one.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Cagliari 0-2 Roma
