Overview
Cagliari started the season with a 1-0 victory at Parma before facing a difficult challenge named Inter Milan. The reigning Serie A champions soon opened the score and controlled most of the game, but could only win with a minimal score difference against Fabio Pisacane's team.
The 2025-2026 season is the first year Pisacane takes on the position of head coach. He helped Cagliari finish in 14th place, the team's best achievement in Serie A in the past 9 years. The next goal is to maintain stability and aim for a memorable journey in the Coppa Italia.
Cagliari has never won the Coppa Italia. The only time Rossoblu participated in the final was in 1969, so this year's tournament offers them an opportunity to get closer to a title that the club has not yet reached.
Their journey in the Coppa Italia this season started in mid-last month. Cagliari surpassed Arezzo thanks to a penalty successfully converted by Alessandro Deiola, thereby qualifying for the next round.
Meanwhile, Hellas Verona also had to go through a tense match to win a ticket to the next round. This team defeated Virtus Entella after a penalty shootout at Bentegodi stadium.
Verona once led 2-1 when the match was only about 5 minutes left, but let the opponent equalize. After that, Andrias Edmundsson successfully took the decisive shot in the penalty shootout, helping the home team advance.
However, things became more difficult for Verona afterwards. The team just relegated from Serie A suffered a defeat against Ascoli in the opening match of Serie B, before getting their first point with a 1-1 draw with Padova.
Marco Baroni's return as coach has also not brought about the expected changes. The former Lazio coach used to play and coach Verona, and is expected to help this team quickly return to Serie A.
In the current situation, Verona may have to consider prioritizing the Serie B front. The match against Arezzo will be more important as they need to improve their position and accumulate points in the race to return to the highest league in Italy.
Personnel situation
Cagliari will not have the service of French striker Yael Trepy, who is still in the process of recovering from a serious accident. Riyad Idrissi continues to be absent for a long time, while Yerry Mina is having a calf problem.
Rossoblu just parted ways with Sebastiano Esposito, who moved to Sassuolo. In the opposite direction, Cagliari is preparing to welcome right-back Yukinari Sugawara from Southampton and young talent Yanis Massolin of Inter Milan.
Hellas Verona also has changes in force. Roberto Gagliardini joined the team on a free transfer, while right-back Gabriele Zappa moved to Verona on loan.
Expected lineup:
Caprile, Pedro, Deiola, Obert, Aurelio, Romano, Gagliardini, Liteta, Maldini, Carlos, Fadera.
Hellas Verona: Perilli, Zappa, Korac, Edmundsson, Bradaric, Bernede, Le Borgne, Compagnon, Kastanos, Sarr, Mulattieri.
The match between Cagliari and Hellas Verona takes place at 2:00 AM on September 4th (Vietnam time).
