Internazionale vs Cagliari 15/01/20

15 January 2020

Internazionale welcome out-of-sorts Cagliari to the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza for an interesting encounter in the Coppa Italia round of 16 this weekend.

Rocked by a dismal 1-1 home draw with Atalanta in Serie A, the hosts will be looking to return to winning ways when they take on a side they’ve beaten ‘to nil’ in three of their last four competitive H2Hs held at this venue. But, the Nerazzurri have struggled to impress at the Giuseppe Meazza recently, pulling off just three wins in their previous seven competitive home matches (D3, L1). Those games have rarely lacked entertainment, though, with four of them producing over 2.5 goals and seeing both teams score. By extension, 11 of Inter’s previous 15 competitive fixtures have witnessed both sides hit the net, with 11 featuring three or more goals too. Big favorites ahead of the kick-off, Antonio Conte’s men have outplayed Cagliari in five of their last six competitive H2Hs (L1), with four of those triumphs coming via a multiple-goal margin.

Meanwhile, the visitors have suffered a dip in form the past thirty days, going from 14 games without a loss (W9, D5) to four straight defeats. All four of those failures have seen Cagliari concede two or more goals and score one or less. Lapses in concentration after the break have witnessed nine of the last ten goals they’ve conceded coming in the second half, with five of them arriving beyond the 80th minute. Still, Cagliari’s recent road trips have overseen some fireworks. Indeed, each of their previous four away games have produced over 2.5 goals, with three of them seeing both teams score. However, a fragile defense that has failed to keep a blank sheet in seven of Cagliari’s nine competitive road trips could be setting Rolando Maran’s side back in their bid to qualify for the quarter-finals.