Inter Milan are at the top of the Serie A table, and they will look to extend their gap to their title rivals in the game vs Cagliari on Saturday. The Nerazzurri have an impressive record against Cagliari, and they will look to pick up their second win of the season against them.
Meanwhile, the visitors are fighting for survival, and they are 15th in the league table. Davide Nicola’s men are unbeaten in the last two league matches, and it will be interesting to see if they can grind out a positive result here. This will be a difficult outing for the away side, and they need to step up their performance levels to get a good result against the champions.
Last season, Cagliari managed to grind out a 2-2 draw against Inter Milan away from home. They will be hoping for more of the same here. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
The home side will be without Piotr Zielinski, Mehdi Taremi, and Denzel Dumfries, who are injured. Inter Milan will shape up in a 3-5-2 formation vs Cagliari, with Yann Sommer in goal.
In the back three, Benjamin Pavard will start alongside Francesco Acerbi and Alessandro Bastoni. Matteo Darmian and Federico Dimarco will start as the wing-backs. They will look to contribute at both ends of the pitch.
In the middle of the park, Davide Frattesi, Nicolo Barella, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan will add control, creativity, and defensive cover to the side. Finally, Marcus Thuram will lead the line for Inter Milan vs Cagliari alongside Lautaro Martinez.
Possible Lineup (3-5-2): Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Frattesi, Barella, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez
Davide Nicolas does not have any injury issues this week, and they have a fully-fit squad to choose from. Cagliari will shape up in a 3-4-2-1 formation, with Elia Caprile in goal.
In the back three, Gabriele Zappa will start alongside Yerry Mina and Sebastiano Luperto. They will look to keep the Inter Milan attackers quiet. Nadir Zortea and Tommaso Augello will start as the wide players, and they will look to contribute at both ends of the pitch. They will look to protect the central defenders and hit Inter Milan on the break.
As for the midfield unit, Michel Adopo and Matteo Prati will start in the middle of the park, and they will look to keep things compact in the middle of the park. Zito Luvumbo and Nicolas Viola will start as the attacking midfielders, and they will look to create counter-attacking opportunities in the final third. Finally, Roberto Piccoli will lead the line for Cagliari vs Inter Milan on Sunday.
Possible Lineup (3-4-2-1): Caprile; Zappa, Mina, Luperto; Zortea, Adopo, Prati, Augello; Luvumbo, Viola; Piccoli
The Inter Milan midfielder is our key player to watch out for. Barella was quite impressive during the midweek against Bayern Munich, and he will look to control the game from the middle of the park.
He will look to stitch the play together and create opportunities for his teammates. The Italian international is expected to run the show for Inter Milan here, and Cagliari will find it difficult to deal with him.
Both teams will be desperate for a good result here, and Inter Milan will be the favourites. The Nerazzurri have a much better team, and they are in impressive form right now. The midweek win over Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals will have given them an enormous confidence boost, and they will look to build on it.
The home side are unbeaten in the last six league matches, and they should be able to grind out a comfortable victory at home. The visitors have been difficult to beat in the last two league games, but the gulf in class between the two teams is quite significant, and they are likely to crash to a defeat here. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-0 win for Simone Inzaghi and his charges.
