Cagliari are two places behind Udinese in the Serie A table heading into Saturday's gameweek 35 encounter at Unipol Domus.
Nevertheless, the Sardinians, eight points behind their 12th-placed visitors, aim to inflict the Udine outfit's fourth straight away defeat to give themselves hope of ultimately eclipsing Kosta Runjaic's team in the final rounds.
Match preview
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Cagliari snapped a three-match Serie A drought last time out at Hellas Verona, notching a 2-0 success to record only their third away top-flight victory this term and a first since beating Monza 2-1 on January 5.
After ending an extended wait without winning on their travels, Davide Nicola's men seek consecutive top-flight victories for the first time this season, having not done so since beating Empoli (1-0) and Salernitana (4-2) in March 2024.
Results in Sardinia have been mixed for the 14th-placed side, who have secured one win from their last three in front of their supporters and two from the last five.
Despite Udinese's extended winless run, the home support will head into Saturday's contest aware of their miserable record in this fixture, falling to three defeats and managing two draws in their last five home Serie A fixtures against the Little Zebras.
That ideally should fill the travelling fans with optimism, even if the White and Blacks enter gameweek 35 without a league win since the start of March.
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Despite the two-month wait for maximum points, Runjaic's team recently ended a five-match losing run against Europe-chasing Bologna on home soil, and the away team hope to take the positives from that encouraging result to continue their impressive record in Cagliari.
However, that aspiration is far from assured given the Little Zebras' losing sequence outside Udine, as highlighted by losses to Inter Milan (2-1), Genoa (1-0) and Torino (2-0).
Having fired blanks in back-to-back matches on their travels, the confidence in the visitors' ranks could be questionable before Saturday's Sardinia trip.
Considering that Runjaic's team have fallen to four consecutive defeats on the road earlier this season when they were beaten by Roma (3-0), AC Milan (1-0), Venezia (3-2) and Atalanta (2-1) between September and November, the travelling fans could be forgiven for expecting a repeat this weekend.
That dread is further amplified given the Friulians' goalscoring issues, with Udinese firing blanks in five of their six Serie A fixtures heading into another matchup with their Sardinian hosts.
Team News
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While the Sardinians have no suspended players, Gabriele Zappa is one yellow card away from serving a one-match ban.
Missing due to injury is Yerry Mina, who is not expected back from a thigh problem until late May.
Of Roberto Piccoli's nine goals for Cagliari, three have been match-winning contributions, and the forward seeks another decisive involvement this weekend.
The visitors have several absentees through suspension or injuries: Martin Payero and Kingsley Ehizibue will serve bans, while Florian Thauvin (ankle), Jordan Zemura (calf), Jurgen Ekkelenkamp (thigh), Lorenzo Lucca (calf) and Isaak Toure (knee) are all in the wars.
With 10-goal forward Lucca and eight-goal Thauvin expected to miss out, the away side are without two players whose 18 goals contribute to 50% of the team's 36 top-flight goals.
Cagliari possible starting lineup:
Caprile; Zappa, Palomino, Luperto; Zortea, Adopo, Makoumbou, Marin, Augello; Luvumbo, Piccoli
Udinese possible starting lineup:
Okoye; Kristensen, Bijol, Solet; Modesto, Atta, Karlstrom, Lovric, Kamara; Bravo, Davis
We say: Cagliari 1-0 Udinese
While a draw seems likely, Cagliari will back themselves to nick the odd goal at Udinese's expense.
Considering the Little Zebras are shorn of their two leading goal contributors, Nicola's team will hope to have enough up top to end a five-match winless run in Sardinia against Saturday's visitors.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
