Roma vs Cagliari

Stadio Olimpico is the venue as top-four hopefuls Roma and relegation contenders Cagliari trade tackles in a high-stakes Serie A fixture.

Daniele De Rossi’s managerial tenure at his beloved Roma has been off to a flying start, with the ex-midfielder becoming the first ‘Giallorossi’ boss to win his first two Serie A matches in charge since Rudi Garcia in 2013. Back-to-back 2-1 victories against relegation-threatened Cagliari and Salernitana have fired Roma within striking distance of a first top-four finish since 2017/18. Keen to maintain a feel-good factor, they return home, where they’ve strung together an eye-catching 13-game unbeaten streak across all competitions (W11, D2), seeking a third consecutive home league win against Cagliari. By extension, Roma have gone unbeaten in eight Serie A H2Hs they’ve hosted since a 4-2 defeat in 2011 (W6, D2), underscoring just how confident they are about staying the course under De Rossi.

On the other hand, Cagliari’s bid to avoid a swift return to Serie B has taken back-to-back blows, with a brace of defeats ‘to one’ at the hands of Frosinone and Torino keeping them firmly embedded in a dreaded relegation scrap. Sources of confidence are few as the visitors commence this round marginally off the drop zone, courtesy of a superior goal difference to 18th-placed Hellas Verona. Veteran manager Claudio Ranieri isn’t under threat yet. But Cagliari’s dreadful away form requires immediate attention as they head into proceedings as one of only three Serie A sides yet to win on the road this season (D3, L8). Away goals have been at a premium for the ‘Sardinians.’ They’ve bagged a meager average of 0.63 goals per top-flight travel, highlighting the significance of keeping things tight at the back.