Cremonese
- Cremonese, meanwhile, like to set up in a pragmatic 3-5-2 system that morphs into a 5-4-1 defensive shape when out of possession, utilising their wing-backs to push forward and relying on quick transitions to expose opposing full-backs when they win the ball back in wide areas.
- Cremonese have been on a bit of a downturn of late, taking one win, one draw and three defeats from their last five games - although they did compete well in recent defeats to Fiorentina and Napoli.
- Cremonese have won two, drawn three and lost three of their eight home matches in Serie A, conceding an average of 1.38 goals per game.
Cagliari
- The current Cagliari boss, Fabio Pisacane, has instilled a clear identity at the Sardinian club in his few months in charge, preferring a 3-4-1-2 or hybrid 3-5-2 system that uses possession, dynamic passing, and counter-pressing to dominate the ball and win it high up the field.
- Results have been mixed - two wins, one draw and two defeats from the last five - but their 2-1 away win over Torino in the middle of last month was a sign that Pisacane’s work is slowly bearing fruit on the road.
- Meanwhile, Cagliari have won twice, drawn three and lost four times on the road, bagging nine goals in nine away games.
Head-to-Head
- Cagliari will face their former boss _Davide Nicola_ on Thursday, who’s made Cremonese hard to beat.
- So, this matchup will be a fascinating chess game between the compact, transition-based football that Cremonese favour and Cagliari’s more modern system of pressing and possession.
- Whichever team wins the wing-back battle will likely come out on top, with Cagliari perhaps holding a psychological advantage after beating Nicola’s team 1-0 in the Coppa Italia 2024/2025.
Key Players
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Key players to watch:
- Cremonese’s best bet in the goal-scoring market is Federico Bonazzoli, who has five goals in 15 Serie A appearances this term.
- Cagliari’s top marksman is Gennaro Borrelli, who has three in 17.
- But Gianluca Gaetano has chipped in with two goals in his last five for the rossoblu, so it may be worth taking a chance on him to score any time against Cremonese.
Betting Insights
- The bookmakers make Cremonese slight favorites for this game at 2.39, with Cagliari available at 3.38 and the draw at 3.32, so a tight game is expected.
- ‘Both Teams To Score’ is coming in at 1.85, which looks attractive given both sides have shown enough defensive vulnerabilities for that to land in this clash of compact teams.
Prediction
A home win would be the preferred selection, but there is enough uncertainty about this game to go with the draw.
