Cagliari vs Monza

Cagliari will host the doomed Monza team during their Sunday Serie A match to enhance their position away from the relegation zone.

Due to their inferior standings the Brianzoli face a Serie B reality while their hosts secure another Serie A season following a consecutive top-flight appearance.

The visitors kept Italy's most successful team at bay in the match just before international break yet Cagliari fell to a 1-0 defeat against Artem Dovbyk's solitary goal at Stadio Olimpico.

The team suffered a loss to Claudio Ranieri during his return to management at Cagliari which put them four points ahead of relegation with nine matches remaining.

Head coach Davide Nicola faces growing concern because his team scored only twice in their recent five matches although a limited number of goals could decide their fate between safety and relegation.

The recent form of Cagliari has raised concerns because they have lost four of their last seven home matches similar to their previous 15 campaign home deficit count.

Cagliari wants to prolong their unbroken home victory streak of seven matches against Monza which started back in 1984 at their Sardinian home stadium.

Monza joined Serie A in 2022 and Cagliari faced them three times with one victory for each team resulting from the 2-1 win the Sardinians achieved during their January encounter.

The team's ninth home loss this season stands as one of their nine defeats in their home stadium this term while holding the last place position of the standings and being separated from safety by ten points.

Alessandro Nesta's return after his dismissal and subsequent rehire hasn't resulted in any improvement, as the Biancorossi have only picked up two points out of a possible fifteen since the former Italy star replaced Salvatore Bocchetti.

At this point in the season, they have only amassed 15 points, which is the largest deficit of any club in Serie A. Although Monza did draw 1-1 with Parma last time out, as Armando Izzo's second-half goal was negated by a brilliant equalizer from Ange-Yoan Bonny, the last time they were undefeated in back-to-back league games was back in November.