AC Milan vs Cagliari 02/08/20

02 August 2020

AC Milan clinched a comfortable 2-0 away win over Cagliari in the reverse fixture and will be looking for a repeat as the two sides reconvene at the Stadio San Siro on the final matchday of the 2019/20 Serie A season.

After putting four goals past Sampdoria at the midweek, Milan’s post-restart average stands at 2.9 goals scored per league game. The hosts have not only won eight of 11 Serie A fixtures since the resumption of football in June (D3), but they did it in remarkable fashion. Resurgent ‘Rossoneri’ have scored over 1.5 goals in one half in each of those successes, netting a total of 27. Yet, Stefano Pioli will be desperate to see his side step up their first-half performances. The Milanese giants have taken the lead into halftime in just four of 18 Serie A home matches this season (HT: W4, D10, L4), although they’ve won three such games (D1).

The change in management has done little to improve Cagliari’s disappointing form in 2020. Indeed, under Walter Zenga’s tutelage, the ‘Sardinians’ have won only three of 12 Serie A fixtures (D4, L5), mainly thanks to a lack of firepower up front. The visitors have drawn a blank in five of those 12 matches, scoring precisely once per game in five of the other seven. In turn, Cagliari have netted under 1.5 goals in nine of ten league trips since the calendar flipped (W1, D4, L5), bagging only seven goals in total. A trip to the San Siro may evoke painful memories, given that Cagliari have lost all 14 of their previous top-flight H2Hs held there, seven of which were ‘to nil.’