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Cagliari vs Parma
When: Saturday, April 17 – 20:45 CEST
Where: Sardegna Arena in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy
Weather: Partly cloudy, 12°C
Tonight’s game between Cagliari and Parma will be a sort of battle for survival. There are only 8 rounds left in the Italian Serie A and both of these teams are stuck in the regelation zone. To dig themselves out of the pit, they need points!
The issue is that neither Cagliari nor Parma can be proud of their recent performances. Plus, both teams are experiencing some serious injury problems. The good news is that all of this promises an exciting game in Sardinia.
Cagliari Going All-In Against Parma
Cagliari is in the middle of a very ugly schedule. In the remainder of the season, they will have to face Italian heavyweights in AS Roma, Napoli, and AC Milan. On the bright side, the worst is over – they don’t have to play against Inter and Juventus anymore.
About a month ago, the Islanders lost to Juventus 3-1 at home, which was when their four-game losing streak began. Last Sunday, Cagliari played against the incumbent Serie A champ Inter Milan. Even though they lost that game, they did put on a solid performance, allowing only one goal in.
Defending hasn’t been the main worry of the team from Sardinia. In fact, they have conceded 51 goals so far, which isn’t that bad. Furthermore, in the entire season, they allowed 2+ goals only on seven occasions.
Their real problem in 2020-21 has been scoring. With only 31 goals so far, Cagliari has one of the worst offences in the league. But, at least, they weren’t as bad as Parma who have scored two goals fewer.
Unfortunately for Cagliari, finding the net against Parma is not going to be easy. Not only will Parma players be super-motivated to grab at least a point but Cagliari will be without several of their key men tonight.
Marko Rog, Matteo Tramoni, and Riccardo Sottil are out of the picture, while Luca Ceppitelli and Alessandro Deiola are doubtful.
On top of everything, Cagliari’s first-choice goalie, Alessio Cragno is also injured. However, this shouldn’t improve Parma’s chances of scoring as Guglielmo Vicario seems like more than a decent replacement.
At least, that’s the impression he left against Inter when he let only one of the opponent’s eight shots on goal get in.
Seven Points for Parma in the Last Eight Games
From December 19, 2020, to March 21, 2021, Parma won only one point, losing 10 games along the way. Because this team has had worse days, their recent form cannot be called bad. In fact, Parma collected seven points across their last eight outings in Serie A.
They drew three of those games, lost three, and won one. The one they won was a big one – they beat AS Roma 2-0.
Romanian forward Valentin Mihaila scored one of those two goals. The other came via one of Parma’s best players, Hernani. The midfielder is sharing Parma’s top-scorer place with Juraj Kucka with six goals. The same two are Parma’s leading assist-makers, with two each.
Unfortunately, Hernani is going to miss tonight’s Cagliari vs Parma game, which is a major blow for the former Italian champions. Even worse, Parma is going to miss seven other first-team players, namely: Riccardo Gagliolo, Yann Karamoh, Simone Iacoponi, Roberto Inglese, Wylan Cyprien, Joshua Zirkzee, and Mattia Sprocati.
Yordan Osorio, Gervinho, Dennis Man, and Graziano Pelle are ready to step in, but the question is are they good enough to help Parma get at least a point tonight?
Cagliari vs Parma Betting Picks
Their previous duel finished without any goals. We shouldn’t expect a goal bonanza tonight either, as these two teams are horrible when it comes to scoring. Still, unlike their last duel, this one should feature at least one goal.
The team that seems more likely to score is Cagliari. The reason is that they’re simply the better team. Even if Parma had all of their key men fit, they’d still be thought of as underdogs.
Prediction: Cagliari -0.25 AH – 2.04 SBO
