Milan-Cagliari is a match valid for the round of 16 of the Coppa Italia and is played Tuesday at 9 p.m.: lineups, predictions, TV and streaming.
Milan debuts in the Coppa Italia with the knowledge that, should they land in the semifinals, the double derby with Inter Milan will not be there. The Nerazzurri, in fact, have already dropped out of the competition after their defeat to Bologna that matured in extra time. Therefore, should they get the better of Claudio Ranieri’s Cagliari, Stefano Pioli’s men would face one between Atalanta and Sassuolo and in a hypothetical semifinal the winner of the Apennine derby, Fiorentina or Bologna.
There is no doubt that in the left side of the scoreboard the favorites to reach the final are indeed the Rossoneri but we should not forget that in the Coppa Italia surprises are always around the corner, a “rule” confirmed by the early eliminations of Inter and Napoli. Milan comes from the league success with Sassuolo, beaten by a goal from Pulisic, one of the best in this first part of the season. Second win in the last three days for Pioli’s team, as well as the fourth in a row at the San Siro. However, the coach remains in the balance after the elimination from the Champions League and too many missteps in Serie A, which at the moment do not allow the Diavolo to keep pace with Inter and Juventus, respectively at +7 and +9 from Theo Hernandez and his teammates.
Experimental formation for Pioli
While for the Rossoneri the domestic cup could be a chance to bring home at least one title, for Cagliari it is certainly not a priority.
The Sardinians continue to flounder in the relegation zone and despite the adjustments made by Ranieri since October, they are third to last in the standings tied with Verona. Cagliari’s last victory was about a month ago – 2-1 in a comeback against Sassuolo – and it certainly did not help that in the last two days in the direct clashes between Verona and Empoli only one point came, the result of the 0-0 draw with the Tuscans. Ranieri’s men have already made it through two rounds of the Coppa Italia, beating Palermo 2-1 in the middle of August and Udinese in November, again with the same result. The experienced Roman coach will inevitably deploy several second lines at the San Siro: Sulemana will undermine Makoumbou in the middle and there will be a ballot between Mancosu and Oristanio in the three-quarter. In Milan, always struggling with numerous injuries will start from 1′ the various Simic, Jimenez, Romero and Traoré.
The prediction
Cagliari’s only win away from Sardinia so far was against Udinese, which took place precisely in the Coppa Italia. The Rossoblù could give a hard time to what will be to all intents and purposes an “AC Milan B,” but at the moment their priority is the league and it comes hard to imagine a coup by Ranieri’s team. Rossoneri favored to pass the round in a match in which they should still concede at least one goal.
The probable formations of Milan-Cagliari
MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Simic, Hernandez, Jimenez; Reijnders, Adli; Chukwueze, Romero, Traoré; Jovic.
CAGLIARI (4-3-1-2): Radunovic; Di Pardo, Wieteska, Hatzidiakos, Obert; Deiola, Makoumbou, Jankto; Mancosu; Petagna, Luvumbo.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
