CAGLIARI

League position: 13th
Form: D D L D D
Serie A top scorer: Joao Pedro (6)
Last time out in Serie A: Cagliari 1-1 Udinese

Their season so far: Cagliari’s season has stalled over the last few weeks, with Eusebio Di Francesco’s men picking up four draws and two losses since their last Serie A victory - the 2-0 win over Sampdoria on Matchday 7.

A number of coronavirus cases haven’t helped their recent cause, with Diego Godin, Nahitan Nandez, Adam Ounas and Giovanni Simeone all missing matches over the past couple of months after turning in positive Covid-19 tests.

Ounas is still yet to return, while defender Ragnar Klavan, goalkeeper Simone Aresti and youth team stopper Niccolo Cabras all picked up the virus this week, adding to Di Francesco’s issues.

Alessandro Tripaldelli and Paolo Farago are also absent through injury, but the 1-1 draw at Udinese last time out did at least see Godin return to the starting XI.

Simeone - who scored 12 goals last season and had five in eight before coronavirus - has started the last three from the bench as he’s eased back into action, but could return to the starting lineup for the trip to Rome.

Their early season form would suggest that Simeone linking back up with Pedro could make a huge difference in Cagliari’s fortunes.

The pair scored eight goals between them across three wins from four that spanned Matchdays 4-7, and Pedro hasn’t quite hit his straps without Simeone leading the line.

Cagliari’s No. 10 scored six times and laid on an assist in seven matches from MD3-9, but hasn’t scored or provided a goal for his teammates since.

This weekend’s visitors will be hoping Pedro's barren run ends at the Olimpico as they set out on finishing the year with a victory that could potentially move them into the top-half.

What they've said:

“We’re going to face Roma in the next game and it’s not going to be easy.

“I need to find the best players because we haven’t played smoothly of late. We are a bit slow when it comes to moving the ball.” - Cagliari coach Di Francesco