Cagliari vs Udinese prediction 17.09.2023

• Competition: Serie A
• Date: Sunday, 17th September 2023
• Kickoff: 11:30 UTC +1 / 18:30 CEST
• Venue: Unipol Domus (Cagliari)

Cagliari were mostly among the worst teams in Serie A whenever they competed in the Italian top-flight division. Last season, Cagliary played in Serie B after six consecutive seasons in Serie A. But they returned instantly to Serie A through the playoffs after finishing 5th in the regular phase of the season. For this season, they look like one of the primary candidates for relegation, and the general impression is that they could have done more in the transfer window. After three rounds, Cagliari won just one point and are in 19th place, only above Empoli. 

Udinese have been between 12th and 16th place in the last ten seasons. The previous two seasons were very similar for them as they won 47 and 46 points and finished 12th both times. This season, even though their goal is to move one step forward, looking at their squad, we doubt that is possible and expect another similar season as the last two. In the current season, they won just two points from three rounds and sit in 17th place. 

Cagliari vs Udinese pick: Under 2.5 goals

In the first three games, Cagliari have scored only one goal - vs Bologna in the last round. They have big problems in creating goalscoring opportunities, and in those three games, they had only five shots on goal in total. The additional problem for them is the injuries of their key offensive players. We expect them to struggle to score even with those players, let alone without them.

Just like Cagliari, Udinese were also very inefficient in the first three Serie A games, scoring only one goal. Last season, they had big problems on the road, especially in the last part of the season. Over the previous 12 road Serie A games (this and last season combined), Udine failed to score in seven games. Also, since Udinese got slightly worse offensively over the Summer, it is fair to expect their away goalscoring struggles to continue. 

Considering the goalscoring form from both teams and that teams could miss key strikers for this match, we feel that the under 2.5 goals is the best bet for this tie.