Claudio Ranieri‘s Cagliari will go in search of their first Serie A victory of the season when high-flying AC Milan visit the Unipol Domus on Wednesday evening.
Having taken just two points from a possible 15, the hosts find themselves second from bottom in the table, while the visitors occupy second place after winning four of their opening five matches.
Match preview
Cagliari gained promotion via the Serie B playoffs last season, but the Sardinia outfit have struggled to adapt to the demands of top-flight football, recording two wins and three losses to remain winless in 2023-24.
Although the Islanders showed spirit and determination in goalless draws with Torino and Udinese, they were completely outplayed in defeats to Inter Milan, Bologna and Atalanta, with a 2-0 loss against La Dea extending the club’s winless run on Sunday.
To make matters worse for Claudio Ranieri’s men, they have managed to score a solitary goal in five league outings since gaining promotion, meaning that only bottom club Empoli have netted fewer Serie A goals than Cagliari this term.
It is also worth noting that Cagliari have registered just six shots on target across their opening five matches this season, underling the team’s attacking weakness, with 21-year-old Angoloan forward Zito Luvumbo scoring the Islanders’ only goal in 2023-24.
Meanwhile, AC Milan claimed a 1-0 victory over Hellas Verona last weekend, courtesy of Rafael Leao‘s eighth-minute strike, meaning that Stefano Pioli‘s side find themselves three points behind arch-rivals Inter Milan in the early standings.
In fact, Milan’s only defeat of the season came against their old foes in humiliating circumstances, as Inter snatched the Derby della Madonnina bragging rights with a 5-1 demolition of the Rossoneri earlier this month.
Pioli’s side kicked off their campaign with three successive wins, dispatching Bologna, Torino and Roma while scoring a combined total of eight goals, so the thrashing against Inter came as something of a surprise, although Milan have since recovered.
Following a dominant display in a goalless draw with Newcastle United in the Champions League, the Rossoneri returned to winning ways against Verona last time out, setting them up for Wednesday’s clash against winless Cagliari.
Team News
Cagliari will be without injured pair Gianluca Lapadula (ankle) and Marko Rog (knee) for the foreseeable future, while Elio Capradossi, Jacopo Desogus, Alessandro Di Pardo, Jakub Jankto and Leonardo Pavoletti are all a doubt for Wednesday’s showdown.
Despite the Islanders’ struggles, Ranieri will likely continue with his favoured 3-5-2 formation, meaning that Eldor Shomurodov will partner Luvumbo in attack, with Pantelis Chatzidiakos, Alberto Dossena and Adam Obert operating in the backline.
Milan, on the other hand, look set to be without Ismael Bennacer (knee), Mattia Caldara (ankle), Pierre Kalulu (muscle) and Mike Maignan (thigh) for the trip to Sardinia, while there are question marks over the fitness of midfielder Rade Krunic.
Lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, veteran striker Olivier Giroud will continue to operate as the lone striker, with Leao, Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah providing attacking support ahead of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tijjani Reijnders.
Cagliari possible starting lineup:
Radunovic; Hatzidiakos, Dossena, Obert; Nandez, Sulemana, Makoumbou, Deiola, Azzi; Shomurodov, Luvumbo
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Sportiello; Thiaw, Kjaer, Tomori, Florenzi; Loftus-Cheek, Reijnders; Musah, Pulisic, Leao; Giroud
We say: Cagliari 0-3 AC Milan
Given that Cagliari have scored just one goal across five games without tasting victory this season, we expect AC Milan to cruise to a comfortable victory at the Unipol Domus on Wednesday.
