Claudio Ranieri’s Roma’s winning streak came to an end last Thursday at San Mamés in Bilbao, in a match heavily influenced by the sending off of Giallorossi defender Hummels after just 11 minutes of play. Outnumbered for almost the entire match, the Capitolini were unable to defend the 2-1 lead from the first leg, suddenly losing after the first goal scored by the Basques, who in the end won 3-1.
A painful elimination that leaves many regrets for the way it happened, given that without the man sent off it would probably have been a different story. However, every cloud does have a silver lining: it’s worth mentioning, since without midweek commitments, Roma will be able to focus exclusively on the league from now on and continue their pursuit of fourth place, which until a few months ago seemed like a pipe dream. In Serie A, Pellegrini and his team-mates are fresh from five victories in a row, the last one obtained in Empoli thanks to a goal by Soulé (0-1).
This winning streak has allowed them to overtake Fiorentina in seventh place and to get to within just 6 points of fourth placed Juventus. Before the match against the Bianconeri, scheduled for April 6th, Roma must not make any mistakes against Cagliari and Lecce, two teams fighting to avoid relegation. The Sardinians are coming to the Olimpico at a delicate moment: they haven’t won for over a month and in the last 4 games they have only scored two points, thanks to draws with Atalanta and Genoa. In short, Davide Nicola can’t relax. The road to safety, despite the four-point lead over the third-from-bottom team, is still long and winding.
Roma-Cagliari: the latest news on the lineups
Ranieri will have to do without Celik and will be able to rotate several players, giving a chance to those who didn’t play in Bilbao. In the attacking midfield, Soulé should beat Baldanzi, while up front Shomurodov seems to have the edge over Dovbyk, who disappointed in the Basque match. Koné also returns from the bench.
Cagliari will travel to the Stadio Olimpico without two important players, Luvumbo and Zappa, both injured. Rossoblù coach Nicola hopes to at least recover Coman, who will start on the bench. In attack, Viola and Marin will most likely support the lone striker Piccoli. On the right, Obert and Augello are battling it out.
Odds comparison
Roma’s victory is quoted at 1.50 on Goldbet, Lottomatica and Snai. The “Multigol 1-3” sign is quoted at 1.43 on Goldbet and Lottomatica and at 1.45 on Snai.
More information on bonuses
If you are a new user, to compare the odds in an exhaustive manner it may be useful to also analyze any bonuses applied by the same operators to new registrations.
- GOLDBET – Up to €3050 sports and casino with 200% on first deposit sports up to €1000 MORE INFO
- SNAI – 15 euros free + 50% on first deposit up to 30 euros MORE INFO
- LOTTOMATICA – Up to 3050€ sports and casino with 200% on first deposit sports up to 1000€ MORE INFO
The prediction
We expect a strong reaction from Roma after being eliminated from the Europa League. The Stadio Olimpico is a haunted ground for Cagliari, who haven’t won there since 2013 (Roma are unbeaten in their last 9 home games against the Sardinians and have kept a clean sheet in 7 of these). Ranieri’s team, therefore, shouldn’t make any mistakes, quickly forgetting the continental disappointments: at least two goals overall.
ROMA (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Rensch, Mancini, N’Dicka; Saelemaekers, Cristante, Koné, Salah-Eddine; Soulè, Pellegrini; Shomurodov.
CAGLIARI (4-3-2-1): Caprile; Zortea, Mina, Luperto, Obert; Makoumbou, Prati, Deiola; Viola, Marin; Piccoli.