Bet Experts

Cagliari vs Palermo

Cagliari vs Palermo
2016/17 Italian Serie A.
Date: Monday, 31 October 2016
Kick-Off: 20:00 UK,
Venue: Stadio Sant’Elia (Cagliari).

Cagliari and Palermo, two teams with the worst-performing defenses in the league will wrap up round 11 on Monday evening at the Stadio Sant’Elia.

Although there is some distance between the Rossoblu and the drop zone, they have shipped a whopping 23 goals in their first ten games, including nine in just their past two games. Before the 4-1 and 5-3 defeats to Lazio and Fiorentina, they had actually strung together three wins, all 2-1 results against Crotone, Inter, and Sampdoria. Injuries have not been kind to the Sardinians, who now also have Nicola Murru joining Joao Pedro and Artur Ionita on the sidelines for the long-term.

Palermo, meanwhile, have shipped 11 in their past three games, and with 19 overall conceded, are only better than Cagliari’s 23 and Crotone’s 21. The Rosanero, however, have not won a single one of their past five matches and are in fact on a three-match losing streak. Having barely escaped the drop last term, it appears that this season will be another struggle.

And as per usual, eccentric club president Maurizio Zamparini is at it again, with Roberto De Zerbi’s once-safe position now under threat. There are rumors that the next man in charge could be Edy Reja or even Davide Ballardini, who was sacked for De Zerbi, could make a return. In either case, the managerial merry-go-round has never totally ground to a halt.

To complicate things, not only are they leaky at the back, but are quite blunt in attack. Palermo have scored just seven goals so far, which makes their attack the second-worst in the league. Only Empoli, who had netted just two in their first ten games, have fared worse.

Cagliari vs Palermo: Head-to-head statistics

Cagliari have seen over 2.5 goals in their past 11 Serie A games.
Palermo have lost their past three matches, whilst shipping at least three goals in that period.
The Rossoblu have scored at least twice in each of their past six home ties.
Cagliari are 10-4-6 in their past 20 home matches against teams ranked below them in the table.
Palermo are 7-9-4 in their last 20 away games against teams also in the bottom half of the table.

Cagliari vs Palermo: Prediction

Scoring isn’t necessarily a problem for Cagliari, who have netted at least two goals in their past six home games, but keeping clean sheets is a whole other matter. The Rossoblu have only failed to score in 20 per cent of their home games and have won three out of their last four; in fact, their 5-3 defeat to Fiorentina was the first defeat in their first five home matches.

With both sides having porous defenses, expect quite a few goals in this one. Palermo’s poor attack, however, puts them at a huge disadvantage, as although Cagliari keeps shipping goals, at the very least they are still scoring on a more regular basis. Palermo are also missing Slobodan Rajkovic, Giancarlo Gonzalez and Simone Guiliano in defense, complicating an already unpleasant situation that much more. Expect the Rossoblu to use their home pitch advantage to the fullest to edge out a Palermo side who look set to be involved in yet another relegation battle this season.