The rossoblùs need another win to hope for
CAGLIARI. There is no need to start calculating. Cagliari must bring home another three points. Even if the opponent is called Roma, the rossoblù have no alternative to fuel the hope of staying in Serie A. It would be unforgivable nonsense to think that the Giallorossi have their head in Manchester, where they will play the first leg of the Europa League on Thursday. Probably Fonseca will leave some of the owners to rest, but this does not mean that the Lupa will snob the game. The approach will be fundamental. You will need a performance made with the heart, intelligent on a tactical level, paying attention to the point, leaving the frills alone.
Without Radja. Nainggolan is disqualified (Pereiro positive for Covid for the second time, infected with a variant of the virus), he will watch his companions from the stands. Semplici has clear ideas on how to deploy the midfield. He will give a starting shirt to Zappa, he will move Nandez to the left, Marin will be called to alternate in the middle of the field with Duncan. Deiola confirmed that he did his duty in Udine. Doubt in defense. Probably among the eleven there is Rugani, but Ceppitelli paws. Should he play, the former Juventus still risks the bench because Carboni has proven to be reliable. In attack there are no discussions, the titles are Joao Pedro and Leonardo Pavoletti.
Semplici believes in it. The Cagliari manager is convinced that in the end his team will hit the target. But it keeps its feet on the ground. «We must always think about ourselves and fear others. It all depends on what we do ». The coach could change the form by confirming the 3-4-2-1 seen in Udine. “I’m evaluating based on the recovery of the boys. On paper we want an offensive team, then we’ll see how ». Training? Leonardo does not drop the cards in advance. «We have done many races in a week and we are trying to understand who is fine and who is not – adds Semplici -. To make everyone perform at their best. We’ll see if I make any changes. Nandez is an important player. He has already played several roles with me and with the right mind he can play many roles, even if I see him more external ». Finally, his thoughts on the opponent on duty: «Will Roma have their heads elsewhere? I hope, but I don’t think so. They won’t come here for trips. I think they are experiencing a particular moment with Europe but I’m sure they also care about the championship and they showed it against Atalanta. So it would be better not to have any illusions ».
The Giallorossi. The championship for Roma cannot be defined as a burden, but a distraction yes. The goal on which the club has now moved all-in is the Europa League and this is demonstrated by Fonseca’s choices and results. Five points in the last six games have moved away from the Champions League, after the midweek match there was only one success and the big names were almost always kept to rest to arrive fresh for the Thursday appointments. The statements of Fonseca in the conference are clearly not of surrender and it could not be otherwise. «Today we want to play a good game and win. It won’t be easy but we will try ». None of the four recovered (Smalling, Spinazzola, Kumbulla and El Shaarawy) should start from the beginning. The plan is to give him minutes, but in the second half to avoid unpleasant relapses. Pau Lopez in goal because Mirante was hurt.
Statistics. Roma (50.5%) is the team with the best percentage of shots on target. Cagliari is last in this ranking (41.3%). Joao Pedro has scored five goals in his last three games for Roma (against no team he has scored more goals in the top flight). However, Cagliari only got one draw in this set, compared to two defeats. Edin Dzeko hasn’t scored in 11 Serie A appearances and could run out of goals for 12 straight games in the top-5 European leagues for the first time in his career. Joao Pedro has scored 14 goals so far. He can become the first Brazilian with at least 15 goals in two consecutive Serie A seasons. He hopes to reach this goal already in today’s game. © breaking latest news
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