Preview: Cagliari vs Lecce - prediction, team news, lineups

After ending their long winless run last week, relegation-threatened Lecce will visit Cagliari on Monday evening, for the final game of Serie A’s 25th matchday.

While the Salentini are still deep in danger, their Sardinian hosts have taken big strides towards safety since the start of 2026.

Match preview

Taking them up to 12th place in the table, Cagliari had posted three straight wins before they travelled to Rome last week.

Consecutive victories over Juventus, Fiorentina and Hellas Verona put them on course to confirm a fourth straight year in Italy’s top tier, but that run was halted at Stadio Olimpico, where Donyell Malen’s double consigned the Rossoblu to a 2-0 defeat.

Nonetheless, a tally of 28 points is Cagliari’s best at this stage of any Serie A campaign since 2020, while they last conceded fewer goals in 2012.

Having kept back-to-back clean sheets at home to Juve and Verona, Fabio Pisacane’s side can try to keep that trend going on Monday, when victory would further distance one of the strugglers below them.

History certainly suggests a third straight Serie A home win - which Cagliari last achieved six seasons ago - could well be on the cards.

On Sardinian soil, the Isolani have won six and lost just one of 11 top-flight games against Lecce, with that lone defeat dating back more than a decade.

Despite taking an early lead, Andrea Belotti’s brace left Lecce empty-handed in September’s reverse fixture, continuing a dismal record in head-to-head meetings - they were also beaten 4-1 on their most recent visit to Cagliari.

Ahead of this encounter, the Salentini are occupying a familiar position, sitting right in the thick of a desperate survival fight.

Before hosting Udinese last week, Lecce had taken one point from their previous five matches and were amid an acute goalscoring crisis, leaving them just above the drop zone.

So, it was something of a shock when they finally produced their first win of 2026, with Lameck Banda’s stunning 90th-minute free kick securing a 2-1 victory.

Under-fire coach Eusebio Di Francesco responded angrily towards a critical section of supporters at Stadio Via del Mare, but the overwhelming feeling was one of relief.

Now, the Giallorossi will seek successive league wins for the first time since Di Francesco returned for his second spell in charge: they most recently did so during the final two matchdays of last season, which ultimately kept them afloat.

Lecce have, however, claimed just one point from their last six away fixtures, scoring only once - and Cagliari has never been a happy hunting ground.

Cagliari Serie A form:

D L W W W L

Lecce Serie A form:

L L L D L W

Team News

Cagliari can welcome back influential defender Yerry Mina from injury, but Belotti, Michael Folorunsho, Mattia Felici, Gennaro Borrelli and Alessandro Deiola are all sidelined.

Besiktas loanee Semih Kilicsoy should start up front, with Sebastiano Esposito providing support: the latter has posted the Isolani’s most Serie A goal involvements this season (seven - three goals and four assists).

Meanwhile, speedy wing-back Marco Palestra has registered five, leading to talk of a senior Italy call-up for next month’s World Cup playoffs.

Lecce have struggled for goals all season, and their top scorer will be unavailable on Monday, when Banda must serve a suspension.

Without the Zambian winger, the Giallorossi have lost all five Serie A matches so far, compared to a win-rate of 26% with him named in the squad.

Goal-shy strikers Walid Cheddira and Nikola Stulic will again vie for selection up front; AC Milan loanee Francesco Camarda joins midfielder Medon Berisha on the treatment table.

Cagliari possible starting lineup:

Caprile; Zappa, Mina, Rodriguez; Palestra, Adopo, Gaetano, Mazzitelli, Obert; Esposito, Kilicsoy

Lecce possible starting lineup:

Falcone; Veiga, Gabriel, Gaspar, Gallo; Coulibaly, Ramadani; Pierotti, Gandelman, Sottil; Cheddira