Torino vs Cagliari Preview & Prediction | 2023-24 Italian Serie A
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THE FACTS
When is Torino vs Cagliari on and what time does it start? Torino vs Cagliari will take place on Monday 21st August, 2023 – 17:30 (UK)
Where can I get tickets for Torino vs Cagliari? Visit each club’s official website for the latest ticket information
What TV channel is Torino vs Cagliari on in the UK? TNT Sports have the rights to televise Serie A matches in the UK, so it is worth checking their schedule for Torino vs Cagliari
Where can I stream Torino vs Cagliari in the UK? If Torino vs Cagliari is televised on TNT Sports, then subscribers can stream the match live on discovery+
THE LOWDOWN
TORINO
Ivan Juric led Torino to a tenth placed finish in Serie A last season but they were a very bizarre side with several patches of extremely poor form. The Turin club would win just one game in seven matches and then only won back-to-back matches twice throughout the entirety of the campaign. A top-half finish is still something to build on for this season, though.
Over the summer, they have stuck with former Hellas Verona boss Juric, but they have lost a couple of key players. For example, Ola Aina has joined Nottingham Forest on a free transfer, whilst Wilfried Singo has signed for 10 million euros for Monaco and Armando Izzo has joined Monza. In terms of incomings, Ivan Ilic, Nikola Vlasic, Raoul Bellanova, Adrien Tamese, Nemanja Radonjic, Kevin Haveri and Mihai Popa have joined on permanent deals.
CAGLIARI
Cagliari were promoted at the end of the 2022/23 season via the Serie B playoffs. They defeated Bari by two goals to one on aggregate. The Sardinians are expected to struggle this season but they do have a solid chance of survival with the experienced Claudio Ranieri in the dugout. The Islanders have a long way to go, though, after finishing fifth last season.
The visitors were reliant on striker Gianluca Lapadula who scored 21 of their 50 goals. They started their 2023/24 campaign with a 2-1 win at home to a fellow island side, Palermo, in the first round of the Coppa Italia last weekend. That game went to an extra period of 30 minutes which will likely help get some minutes into the legs at the end of their pre-season.
THE TEAM NEWS
TORINO
Ivan Juric’s preferred formation is a 3-4-2-1 system and he is expected to maintain that same formation for this opening round of fixtures but they will be without defender Koffi Djidji for this match due to a hernia operation.
PREDICTED XI (3-4-2-1): Milinkovic-Savic; Buongiorno, Schuurs, Rodriguez; Bellanova, Ricci, Ilic, Radonjic; Vlasic, Karamoh; Sanabria
UNAVAILABLE: Djidji (Illness)
QUESTIONABLE:
CAGLIARI
Claudio Ranieri has always been very flexible with his systems, from being a pioneer of a back three to winning the league with Leicester in a 4-4-2. It is expected Ranieri goes with a 3-4-2-1 with the absence of star striker Gianluca Lapadula.
PREDICTED XI (5-2-2-1): Scuffet; Zappa, Obert, Altare, Dossena, Augello; Nandez, Sulemana; Pereiro, Oristanio; Shomurodov
UNAVAILABLE: Lapadula (Injured), Mancosu (Injured), Rog (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
THE PREDICTION
Torino will expect to get themselves off to a flying start, especially at home against newly-promoted opposition. The Turin club, though, despite playing an easy on the eye style of football under Ivan Juric, consistently struggled for goals in Serie A last year. Now they face a Cagliari side that, especially with the absence of key man Lapadula, will sit back and soak up the pressure in classic Ranieri style. It will be up to a less than clinical Torino side to break them down so this one could well be a bit of a dull one for the neutral.
TIP: UNDER 2.5 GOALS
