Pescara vs Cagliari: Preview and Prediction

Pescara vs Cagliari
2016/17 Italian Serie A.
Date: Sunday, 4 December 2016
Kick-Off: 14:00 UK,
Venue: Stadio Adriatico-Giovanni Cornacchia (Pescara).

Can Cagliari continue to put more distance between them and the bottom three? They will have a good chance as they take on relegation candidates Pescara on Sunday afternoon.

Pescara have still won just one game all season. Unfortunately for them, that wasn’t an “official” victory, but rather an administratively-won result against Sassuolo. Alongside Palermo and Crotone, they are regrettably already involved in the dreaded relegation battle and unless if something changes, are shaping up for a swift return to Serie B. By contrast, Cagliari, who also won promotion last term, are making a solid push for a mid-table berth.

The Rossoblu ended a four-match winless streak by picking up a win against Udinese, but they will come into this game having suffered a 3-0 rout by Sampdoria in the Coppa Italia earlier this week.

Pescara also lost their Coppa Italia tie by the same score-line against an impressively performing Atalanta side. The Delfini will feel aggrieved from their past Serie A match as they thought they just may be able to nick a good result against Roma. And the Giallorossi surely must be thanking their lucky stars they avoided dropping what would have been a rather embarrassing two points against minnows. Unfortunately, no one gets points for effort, and now they must again return to the drawing board as they hope to arrest their rapidly growing downward spiral.

Pescara have shipped a whopping ten goals in three games and have lost their past six Serie A matches. However, they did give Roma quite a bit of trouble in their last league game. Will they be able to use that performance to inspire them against a Cagliari side with a suspect back-line?

Pescara vs Cagliari: Head-to-head statistics

• Pescara have a record of W2-D4-L14 in their past 20 home games against teams ranked above them in the table.
• Cagliari have lost just one out of their last six meetings against Pescara (across all comps).
• The Rossoblu and the Delfini have never drawn before in Serie A.
• Cagliari have won four, whilst Pescara have won twice.
• The Rossoblu have seen over 2.5 goals in 14 out of their last 15 Serie A games.

Pescara vs Cagliari: Prediction

Cagliari have no problems scoring, but they surely have problems keeping their opponents from doing likewise. The Rossoblu have conceded a whopping 31 goals so far. That’s by far the worst in the league. Even Pescara, Palermo, and Crotone have done a bit better. Normally that’s something that will get any team rubbing their hands with glee. However, Pescara’s attack has contributed just 11 goals. Two of those were against Roma, however, and only Empoli (7) and Palermo (10) have done worse.

If Pescara can pull off the same kind of performance they did for most of the tie with Roma, they may be able to trouble Cagliari, who are facing an injury crisis of sorts at the back. The hosts also will be missing a few faces in defense, making this a likely open ended affair from start to finish.