Match Preview: Cagliari 2-2 Spezia Prediction and Betting Tips | Serie A

Cagliari – Spezia Prediction Prediction and Tips for today, August 23, 2021

Cagliari – Spezia Match Preview

• Cagliari diced with doom last season, but saved themselves by going unbeaten in seven of their final eight Serie A (SA) matches (W4, D3). The Sardinians start off as matchday favourites here, and returning fans will no doubt help them improve on 2020/21, when they picked up their lowest home points tally (19) since the club’s 2014/15 relegation season.
• On a low note, only three teams picked up less points when opening the scoring at home than the ‘Rossoblù’ last term (W3, D2, L2). Yet, they clearly have a manager who can get results, with Cagliari gaining over half (59.46%) of their total season points in just 15 matches under Leonardo Semplici’s management (W6, D4, L5).
• Spezia collected 39 points last season, to record the best result for a debuting SA club since 2001/02. However, they are in transition after the departure of coach Vincenzo Italiano for Fiorentina. His successor, Thiago Motta, will hope for a better experience than he had at his only prior top-level engagement, when he won just once in nine league matches with Genoa before being sacked (W1, D3, L5).
• The visitors would like to at least emulate the fine away start they registered last season, when they lost just once in their first five road trips (W2, D2). Yet, they will also want to improve upon their second-half performances, whether at home or playing away, having lost a league-high 14 matches in 2020/21 that stood level at HT.
• Players to watch: Cagliari’s top SA scorer in two consecutive seasons, João Pedro, has netted ten of his last 12 league goals after the break, including one in last year’s corresponding H2H. For Spezia, Daniele Verde scored six SA goals last term, and assisted the team’s opening competitive strike of 2021/22 in their cup fixture last week.