Serie A Preview: Cagliari Aims for First Win with Full Squad, Empoli Targets Historic Unbeaten Start to the Season

On September 21 at 0:30, the fifth round of Serie A in the 2024/25 season will kick off with Cagliari hosting Empoli. After four rounds of matches in the new Serie A season, Cagliari has two draws and two losses, accumulating two points and ranking 19th, while Empoli is in eighth place with one win and three draws, totaling six points.

Cagliari, who have yet to taste victory in Serie A this season, lost both of their most recent matches. In the first four league games, they only managed to score once. The team’s sole victory came in the Italian Cup before the start of the league season. However, Cagliari fans seem to have become accustomed to the team’s slow start, as they failed to secure a win within the first five rounds of the league in the past two seasons.

The situation seems to have changed slightly this season. Although it’s been hard to clinch a win, Cagliari’s head coach Nicola believes that his team has made significant progress, evidenced by the fact that they have hit the woodwork more times than any other team in the first four rounds of Serie A, a total of five times. For this match, Cagliari will aim to avoid failing to score against Empoli in three consecutive home games.

In stark contrast to the home team, Empoli remains unbeaten since the start of the season. Despite drawing most of their first four league matches, their performance is still commendable considering two of those draws were against top teams Juventus and Bologna. Moreover, they also defeated Roma at the Olympic Stadium.

The former head coach of Empoli is now Nicola, who sits on Cagliari’s bench. Now, his successor Daversa hopes to lead Empoli to create history – remaining unbeaten in the first five rounds of Serie A for the first time in the club’s history.

Cagliari received a major boost in terms of personnel ahead of this game, with midfielder Platini expected to recover from an ankle injury, allowing Nicola to have a full squad. Defender Zodia, signed during the summer window, may make the starting lineup, and striker Rwombo hopes to end his nine-game goal drought. On Empoli’s side, goalkeeper Perisic, midfielder Jurekowsi, and Fazzini remain sidelined, but the good news is that Norwegian Solbakken is expected to overcome his muscle injury and at least be available on the bench.

Both Cagliari and Empoli are in urgent need of points. Considering that there was only one goal scored between these two teams in their matches last season, a single goal could well decide the outcome of this game. With the support of passionate home fans, Cagliari might finally secure a long-awaited victory to escape their predicament and send the visitors from Tuscany away disappointed.

>>”>More predictions and analysis for this match can be found here>>>