CAGLIARI

League position: 18th
Head coach: Walter Mazzarri
Serie A top-scorer: Joao Pedro (nine)

RECENT FORM

ROMA: W W D L L
CAGLIARI: W L L W W

Two defeats from two is not how Mourinho and Roma would have wanted to start the New Year and the late capitulation to Juventus last time out will have hurt all involved.

They do, however, have a perfect chance to immediately bounce back against a Cagliari side that sits third from bottom and the Giallorossi have bolstered their ranks this week with the signing of Sergio Oliveira from Portuguese side FC Porto.

Cagliari have also dipped their toes into the transfer market already, with both Edoardo Goldaniga and Matteo Lovato recruited - and the former could make his debut against the Giallorossi.

Despite their lowly position Mazzarri’s side have proven they are no pushovers, having won both of their two outings in 2022 thus far - the latest of which was the dramatic 2-1 victory over Bologna last time out, secured by Gaston Pereiro’s 93rd-minute winner.

Possible Cagliari line-up

(3-5-2)

Cragno; Altare, Carboni, Lovato; Bellanova, Pereiro, Marin, Grassi, Lykogiannis; Joao Pedro, Pavoletti

LAST MEETING

DANGER MAN
Joao Pedro

The Cagliari captain is his side’s go-to man, their talisman that has been plotting their course - often singlehandedly - since 2015.

And, with Keita Balde away at the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal, Pedro shoulders even more responsibility over the next month.

Already, he is again top-scorer at the Sardegna Arena in 2021-22, with nine goals in 21 Serie A appearances thus far.

Cagliari will be hoping he can add to that tally at the Olimpico, where the Giallorossi will need no reminder as to his talents.

MATCH STATS

Roma have lost just one of their last 15 Serie A meetings with Cagliari (W10, D4, L1) and they won the reverse fixture 2-1 as the away side.

There have been plenty of goals in this fixture recently, with the last four top flight games between Roma and Cagliari amassing 20 goals at an average of five per game.

The Giallorossi have won three of those four games and Roma have kept a clean sheet in five of their last seven games against Cagliari on home soil (W5, D2).

On average, Roma attempt a shot every 39 touches of the ball this season (compared to 54 for Cagliari), which is the most efficient output in the league.

PLAYER STATS

• Prior to Tammy Abraham, the last player in his first season as a Roma player to have scored at least eight goals in the first 21 games of the club was Marco Borriello back in 2010-11 (nine).
  
• Abraham has scored in his last two league appearances and only once has he had a longer goalscoring run in one of Europe’s top tiers (three games for Chelsea in September 2019).
  
• Joao Pedro has scored six Serie A goals against Roma, all of which have come in his last five games against the Giallorossi.
  
• The 29-year-old is Cagliari’s fourth-highest scorer in their history with 87 goals and he comes in at number two when it comes to most Serie A goals for the club, with 67.

WHAT THEY SAID

“We deserved the three points because we never stopped looking for them. Congratulations to everyone because we’ve done something important here. We’ll go to Roma with the same spirit of the last two games. We’re not out of trouble, but we will try to also do well at the Olimpico.”

- Cagliari skipper Joao Pedro after his team’s win over Bologna