Cagliari-Spal is a match of the 22nd Serie B fixture and it is played on Friday at 20:30: odds, predictions, TV and streaming.
The Ranieri effect in Cagliari began even before the arrival of the over-seventy-year-old coach, whose adventure on the bench began in the Sardinian capital at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, when he won a historic double promotion from C to A.
The debut of the architect of the Leicester miracle coincided with a 2-0 win against Como, the second in a row in front of his own public after his Boxing Day victory against Cosenza (Ranieri had already been made official, but Pisacane went on the bench). Last Saturday, however, the Rossoblù missed the appointment with the three points in the away match at Cittadella, despite facing a team currently struggling in the playout zone and playing for almost a half in a numeric inferiority. In Veneto it ended 0-0, a result that slowed down the Sardinians’ race – eighth in the standings, just outside the playoff zone and with ten points to make up on second place – but that did not dampen the enthusiasm and desire to climb the slope brought by the Roman coach.
Among the most evident novelties of the new management are the improvements shown in the phase of non-possession of the ball: with Ranieri, Cagliari have kept their goal unbeaten for three days in a row, after having conceded goals uninterruptedly from October onwards.
Tripaldelli
A match to be won at all costs is the one against the Spal team of newcomer Daniele De Rossi – one of Ranieri’s ‘condottieri’ in his Roma days – who arrive in Sardinia on the back of two useful results in a row against Reggina – beaten 1-0 at the ‘Granillo’ a fortnight ago – and Ascoli. Despite being inconsistent, the former Giallorossi captain seems to have managed to give an identity to the team and to drag it, for now, out of the relegation fight.
Cagliari-Spal: latest line-up news
It will still be the 3-5-2 the module with which Ranieri will send his Cagliari team onto the pitch. In attack, Falco will support Lapadula, while Nandez will play the role of midfield inside. The red and blue defence will be formed by Altare, Dossena and Capradossi.
The best possible formation for De Rossi, who will again put his faith in Moncini up front, supported by Maistro and Valzania. No changes compared to the match against Ascoli.
The prediction
The master (Ranieri) should get the better of the pupil (De Rossi). But it promises to be a close match at the Unipol Domus, between two teams who failed to live up to expectations in the first half of the season and need to find themselves again. The total number of goals could be less than four in this match, and at least one of the two will most likely fail to score.
Cagliari v Spal likely line-ups
- CAGLIARI (3-5-2): Radunovic; Altare, Dossena, Capradossi; Zappa, Nandez, Makoumbou, Kourfalidis, Azzi; Falco, Lapadula.
- SPAL (3-4-2-1): Alfonso; Peda, Meccariello, Dalle Mura; Dickmann, Prati, Zanellato, Celia; Valzania, Maistro; Moncini.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-0
