© Gribaudi-ImagePhoto / Imago
Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Serie A clash between Cagliari and Genoa, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Genoa could leave the bottom three in Serie A this weekend if they beat Cagliari and other results go in their favour.
Daniele De Rossi‘s team travel to Sardinia for Saturday’s gameweek 12 fixture, aiming for their first victory at Unipol Domus since 2021, having failed to beat this weekend’s hosts in three visits across Serie A and Serie B.
Match preview
Even at this early stage of the season, Genoa appeared to be in a dire situation after nine rounds, marked by a winless start to the season.
The poor form cost Patrick Vieira his job in Liguria, but the Rossoblu have remained unbeaten since then, defeating Sassuolo 2-1 and drawing 2-2 with Fiorentina in De Rossi’s bow.
While they have yet to keep a clean sheet since the managerial change, scoring two goals in each of the past two matches mean that the Grifone have doubled their goal tally from gameweeks one to nine in just two rounds, suggesting a shift in their attacking ability.
Aiming to sustain that form, scoring twice could be enough for the Griffin to move out of the bottom three this weekend, as Parma in 17th place sit one point above 18th-placed Genoa heading into the post-November international break.
Maximum points for De Rossi’s team in Sardinia could see them rise as high as 15th in the table, even though this depends on the teams above them also slipping up this weekend and the visitors securing maximum points at Unipol Domus for the first time in four years.
Genoa have not defeated Cagliari in Sardinia since a 3-2 victory in September 2021, with subsequent results either being draws or defeats across top-flight and second-tier encounters.
This weekend’s hosts will hope for more of the same as the Sardi aim to avoid being dragged closer to the bottom three.
With only three points separating Fabio Pisacane‘s men from this weekend’s visitors, the Isolani are already looking over their shoulders, especially as wins have been scarce in 2025-26.
Having won three matches in September — two in Serie A and one in the Coppa Italia — Cagliari have since gone seven without success in the top flight, losing four during that period.
Instantly noticeable are the defeats in Sardinia, where they have suffered three consecutive losses against Inter Milan (2-0), Bologna (2-0) and Sassuolo (2-1).
A fourth consecutive defeat will set alarms ringing in Sardinia, as the danger of falling into the bottom three looms large.
It remains to be seen how much the results over the past four years will influence the upcoming clash between these clubs, as the hosts seek to maintain their unbeaten home record against Genoa.
Cagliari Serie A form:
Genoa Serie A form:
Team News
Andrea Belotti remains absent for the long term due to a serious knee injury, while the quartet of Giuseppe Ciocci (ankle), Alessandro Deiola (thigh), Marko Rog (calf) and Nicola Pintus are unlikely to feature.
While Mattia Felici has only a handful of starts (three), the wide midfielder enters this weekend as Cagliari’s joint-leading scorer with Belotti, and the attacker aims to add to his two goals if he gets a rare start.
The responsibility, though, remains on Sebastiano Esposito to deliver in Belotti’s absence, and the young forward seeks to add to the sole league goal he scored in the late October 2-1 defeat by Sassuolo.
Genoa will assess Jeff Ekhator, Caleb Ekuban, Sebastian Otoa and Hugo Cuenca ahead of Saturday’s visit to Sardinia.
Leo Ostigard has scored two and assisted one in games against Sassuolo and Fiorentina, though the defender’s productivity is unlikely to be sustainable.
Having opened his account for the season against the Viola before the international break, Lorenzo Colombo aims to add to his tally in consecutive rounds.
Cagliari possible starting lineup:
Caprile; Zappa, Mina, Luperto; Palestra, Gaetano, Prati, Folorunsho, Obert; Esposito, Borrelli
Genoa possible starting lineup:
Leali; Marcandalli, Ostigard, Vasquez; Norton-Cuffy, Frendrup, Malinovskyi, Martin; Ellertsson, Vitinha; Colombo
We say: Cagliari 1-1 Genoa
Four of the last six matches across Serie A and Serie B have ended in draws, and another tie is likely in this fixture, with Genoa’s unbeaten streak extending to three and Cagliari’s winless run reaching eight.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
No Data Analysis info
Previews by email
Click here to get Sports Mole‘s daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!
