Overview
After a positive start with a victory over Arezzo in the Coppa Italia and 3 points at Parma's stadium, Cagliari suffered two consecutive defeats. The 0-1 defeat to Inter Milan at home was not too surprising as the reigning Serie A champion has won all 6 recent away trips to Sardinia.
However, the defeat to Hellas Verona in the middle of last week caused Cagliari to be eliminated from the Coppa Italia and missed the opportunity to meet Roma in the round of 16. However, since the end of last season, coach Fabio Pisacane's team has still won 4 out of the last 6 official matches, so this result is not too big of a problem.
Like Lecce, Cagliari's most important goal is to stay in the league instead of going deep in cup tournaments. The two teams will aim for 3 points in the upcoming match. History is not on Cagliari's side as they have only won 7 out of 22 previous receptions of Lecce.
In their most recent encounter in February, Lecce won 2-0 right at Unipol Domus. The Salento team also successfully stayed in the league last season after winning 2 important victories in the final stage.
Under the guidance of coach Eusebio Di Francesco, Lecce started the season with a victory over Venezia, before a 0-4 home defeat to Roma. This is also the third consecutive week Di Francesco has met an old team, after Cagliari and some clubs he has coached.
Lecce did not have to play in the middle of the week because they were eliminated by Palermo from the Coppa Italia. Therefore, Di Francesco and his students will aim for their second away win in the new season when playing away in Sardinia.
Personnel situation
Fabio Pisacane is likely to use the strongest squad after rotation in the Coppa Italia, because Cagliari's most important goal is still to win points in Serie A.
Despite having parted ways with Sebastiano Esposito and Gennaro Borrelli, Cagliari promptly added M'Bala Nzola in the transfer window. This experienced striker will compete for a starting spot with Paul Mendy and Kevin Carlos in attack.
The home team is still missing Yael Trepy, who is recovering from a serious accident, along with Riyad Idrissi and center-back Yerry Mina due to injuries.
On Lecce's side, the most notable contract of the summer, Willem Geubbels, will be absent due to an ankle injury suffered against Roma. Nikola Stulic is expected to replace him in attack.
Two new signings Joel Monteiro and Ivan Ilic just joined Lecce at the end of the transfer window and both can debut in this match. Ilic alone will compete for a midfield position with Lassana Coulibaly.
Expected lineup:
Caprile, Pedro, Deiola, Rodriguez, Obert, Adopo, Winks, Romano, Fazzini, Maldini, Mendy.
Falcone, Veiga, Gaspar, Gabriel, Gallo, Ilic, Coulibaly, Gorter, Pierotti, Stulic, Monteiro.
The match between Cagliari and Lecce takes place at 11:30 PM on September 7th (Vietnam time).
