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

Days after their wild 5-3 loss to Inter Milan on Monday, Udinese are back in Serie A action at Bluenergy Stadium against fifth-placed Cagliari in gameweek five.

The 13th-placed Bianconeri could not hold on to their 2-0 advantage against the defending league champions, but hope for more joy on Saturday when they host a Cagliari side aiming to secure their third consecutive top-flight victory.

Match preview

It seemed too good to be true when Kosta Runjaic's Udinese side raced into a 2-0 lead after 16 minutes at San Siro, where they were attempting to beat the Nerazzurri for the second time in three years.

However, Inter had levelled 20 minutes after Jurgen Ekkelenkamp had added to James Abankwah's ninth-minute effort, and it seemed like a matter of when, not if, the defending champions flexed their muscles.

While Maduka Okoye was busy in the Udinese goal, highlighted by his seven saves, the Nigeria international could do little about many of the home side's goals, as the Little Zebras ultimately fell to a 5-3 defeat.

Returning to home comforts this weekend, the Friulani may welcome the prospect of facing Cagliari, given that the Sardinians have not beaten them in Serie A for five years since 2021's 1-0 result in Udine.

Since that narrow loss, Udinese have claimed five victories from the following eight meetings, including winning three of the last five.

Notably, though, only one of those recent three wins has been at Bluenergy Stadium, where Cagliari have escaped with two draws in their last three trips.

Fabio Pisacane may be made aware of that statistic heading into this weekend's meeting with the Bianconeri, as they attempt to claim three Serie A wins in a row.

Even though this feat was recently achieved with 2-1 victories against Torino and AC Milan and a 1-0 success over Parma in August, they hope to go on a similar run in the same season for the first time since January this year, when they beat Juventus, Fiorentina and Hellas Verona.

Pisacane's men have so far been aided by their inclination to keep matches tight, with all three wins against Parma, Lecce and recently against Torino narrow successes, while their only defeat this season at home to Inter ended 1-0 in the Nerazzurri's favour.

It remains to be seen if that approach stands them in good stead entering this weekend, but the smart money suggests that keeping matches tight at least gives them a foundation to build on against any opponent.

Pisacane's men have won three of four to start the new season and six of the last seven matches if the back end of the previous season is included, giving the in-form Sardinians possibly their finest shot in five years at beating their Udine hosts.

Udinese Serie A form:

Udinese form (all competitions):

Cagliari Serie A form:

Cagliari form (all competitions):

Team News

Matteo Palma (muscle), Oumar Solet (muscle), Alessandro Zanoli (ACL) and Juan Arizala (thigh) are out due to injury, while Nicolo Zaniolo, absent since August, may be in contention to return in some capacity this weekend.

Jakub Piotrowski underwent a heart operation earlier this month, following his appearance in September 7's loss to Lazio, and the midfielder is expected to be out until after the international break.

On the pitch, Keinan Davis has assisted in three consecutive appearances in September — against Venezia, Lazio and Inter — and the forward's dual threat could be pivotal against Cagliari.

As for the Sardinians, Daniel Maldini has scored in consecutive appearances for the away side, and the forward now seeks to be decisive again after match-winning goals against Lecce and Atalanta.

Paul Mendy is expected to partner Maldini up top, with the forward entering this weekend after having scored two in his last three appearances.

M'Bala Nzola, Mattia Felici (ACL), Yael Trepy and Riyad Idrissi (ACL) are absent for the visiting side's trip to Udine in gameweek five.

Udinese possible starting lineup:

Okoye; Abankwah, Kabasele, Ebosse; Vojvoda, Karlstrom, Miller, Kamara; Gomez, Ekkelenkamp; Davis

Cagliari possible starting lineup:

Caprile; Pedro, Deiola, Rodriguez, Obert; Adopo, Winks, Romano, Fazzini; Maldini, Mendy

We say: Udinese 1-2 Cagliari

Although Udinese enjoy a commanding recent record in this fixture, their alarming defensive fragility leaves them vulnerable against one of Serie A's most in-form outfits.

As such, Pisacane's resolute Cagliari have the confidence and tactical discipline to end their five-year wait for a league victory over the Bianconeri and secure all three points at Bluenergy Stadium.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.