Preview: Pisa vs. Cagliari - prediction, team news, lineups

Needing a strong finish to their Serie A season, bottom-placed Pisa’s turnaround must start on Sunday when they welcome 14th-placed Cagliari to Arena Garibaldi in gameweek 29.

Currently 10 points from safety, the Nerazzurri’s return to the top flight looks likely to be short-lived, barring a miracle, as they welcome their Sardinian visitors to Tuscany in search of only their second victory of the campaign and their first since November.

Match preview

The joy was immense when Pisa ended their 34-year absence from the big time, but the Black and Blues are unlikely to stay up in what has been a chastening return to Serie A.

No team has picked up fewer wins than the Tuscan hosts’ one, while their 48 goals conceded is the third-worst record in the division, with Torino and second-bottom Hellas Verona both letting in 49.

The managerial change, with Oscar Hiljemark replacing Alberto Gilardino at the start of February, has not sparked a turnaround, and the cellar-dwelling side’s prospects now look bleaker than ever.

If the Towers go down, supporters will rue their team’s inability to turn many of their 12 draws into victories, with no team in Serie A playing out as many stalemates in the competition.

However, even those draws have dried up, with four consecutive losses following a goalless draw with Verona in Hiljemark’s first match in charge.

More worrying is the team’s failure to score in three of those recent four defeats and in four of the Towers’ last five games under the Swedish boss, having netted in five of the previous six fixtures.

Cagliari are not exactly pulling up trees in the competition, with Fabio Pisacane’s men securing just two points across their last five matches — one more than Pisa — positioning the Sardinians third-bottom in the form table.

Pisacane’s troops have scored twice during that period and have let in seven, a statistic not too dissimilar to their hosts heading into Sunday’s fixture.

The team’s current five-match winless run was probably not envisaged when the Isolani notched three victories on the spin from mid to late January, keeping clean sheets in wins over Juventus (1-0) and Verona (4-0) to sandwich a 2-1 victory at Fiorentina.

However, the Rossoblu have since failed to score in three of their last five league matches, although finding the net in their 1-1 draw with Parma and 2-1 defeat versus Como across the past two games points to a return to goalscoring form.

While they have some breathing space from the relegation zone, their six-point gap becomes precarious if the teams below the Sardinians start picking up points.

With his team not completely out of danger, Pisacane will hope for a few more positive results to guarantee extending their three-year stay in the big time.

Pisa Serie A form:

Cagliari Serie A form:

Team News

Pisa did not appear to suffer any fresh injuries in last week’s 4-0 thrashing at Juventus, leaving the hosts without Isak Vural (knee), Simone Scuffet (muscle) and Daniel Denoon (ankle).

The Nerazzurri’s prospects hinge on five-goal forward Stefano Moreo, although the 32-year-old has not found the net since January’s 6-2 loss at Inter Milan, a six-game stretch.

Matteo Tramoni and Mehdi Leris also have what it takes to be difference-makers, with the pair contributing to four goals each this term, two fewer than Moreo.

As for injury-hit Cagliari, Pisacane’s leading marksmen are Sebastiano Esposito and Semih Kilicsoy, both of whom have netted four, while Gennaro Borrelli has three goals.

However, two of those men — Esposito and Borrelli — are absent this weekend through suspension and injury, respectively.

Also absent for the Sardinians are Andrea Belotti, Luca Mazzitelli, Gianluca Gaetano, Yerry Mina, Mattia Felici, Alessandro Deiola and Riyad Idrisi, all of whom are sidelined.

Pisa possible starting lineup:

Nicolas; Calabresi, Caracciolo, Coppola; Toure, Marin, Aebischer, Loyola, Angori; Moreo, Durosinmi

Cagliari possible starting lineup:

Caprile; Ze Pedro, Rodriguez, Dossena, Obert; Adopo, Sulemana, Liteta; Palestra, Folorunsho, Kilicsoy

We say: Pisa 1-0 Cagliari

While a draw — which would be Pisa’s 13th in Serie A — ought to be the likeliest outcome, the Nerazzurri’s desperation for points and Cagliari’s overwhelming injury woes mean we are willing to stick our necks out for a home win, ending the Tuscan side’s four-month wait for one.

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