Kicking off their return to the top flight after one year away, Cagliari visit Torino in their Serie A season opener on Monday.
After securing promotion through the playoffs, Claudio Ranieri's men begin their comeback against a Toro side that posted their second straight top-half finish last term.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having recovered from a sluggish start to claim fifth spot in Serie B, and with it a precious playoff place, Cagliari went on to complete their top-flight return at the first time of asking, with veteran coach Claudio Ranieri leading the way back to the promised land.
In his second spell at the club, the former Premier League winner steered the Sardinian side past Venezia, Parma and then Bari in the final, which they won 2-1 on aggregate thanks to Leonardo Pavoletti's late winner at Stadio San Nicola.
Achieving their seventh promotion from the second tier to Calcio's elite level, Cagliari returned via the playoffs for the first time ever, joining Genoa back in Serie A just 12 months after relegation.
During pre-season, the Isolani racked up a series of wins against minnows and youth teams, before holding Brest to a 1-1 draw, and their first competitive outing ended with victory over Palermo last week, when two extra-time goals saw Ranieri's side scrape through to the Coppa Italia's second round.
Ahead of Monday's trip to Turin, Cagliari have lost just one of their last eight league matches against Torino, winning on both of their two most recent visits to Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino. However, they have not won once in their last seven Serie A season openers.
© Reuters
By contrast with their visitors, Torino boast a proud record on the opening matchday: they have gone unbeaten through 16 first-day fixtures against promoted sides, winning 11 - including each of the last six.
Last year, Toro kicked off the 2022-23 campaign by beating Serie A newcomers Monza 2-1, and they ultimately finished one point ahead of the Biancorossi in the final standings to claim another top-half finish.
Ivan Juric has therefore led the Granata to successive 10th-place finishes since taking the reins in Turin, and despite regular rumblings of discontent, he remains in the dugout for a third season and has stated Europe should be his team's next aim.
While Wilfried Singo and Ola Aina have left this summer, Juric was pleased to see Nikola Vlasic convert his loan deal to a permanent contract, with Ivan Ilic and Nemanja Radonjic also choosing to prolong their stays.
Concerns remain about support for star striker Antonio Sanabria, though, as Torino barely averaged over a goal per game last term and have yet to recruit a proven scorer.
Nonetheless, after some mixed results in pre-season, they joined Cagliari in the second round of the cup by beating Feralpisalo 2-1 on Monday, when goals from Ilic and Mergim Vojvoda proved sufficient reward for a dominant performance.
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Ivan Juric handed a competitive debut to Raoul Bellanova in last Monday's Coppa Italia victory, and the ex-Cagliari wing-back should start on the right flank against his former club. Another new arrival, Adrien Tameze, is set for a place on the bench.
Having concentrated on retaining loan players rather than making a number of new signings, Torino's starting XI should be similar to last season's, with Ricardo Rodriguez captaining the side from defence and Antonio Sanabria leading the line up front. The latter was Toro's leading scorer in 2022-23, with 12 goals and four assists in Serie A.
Kofi Djidji (hernia), David Zima (leg) and Demba Seck (shoulder) are all unavailable due to injury for the hosts, while Cagliari will be missing long-term absentees Gianluca Lapadula, Leonardo Mancosu and Marko Rog.
New faces such as Tommaso Augello and ex-Verona midfielder Ibrahim Sulemana featured in last week's win over Palermo, while in Lapadula's absence following ankle surgery, Eldor Shomurodov could join Zito Luvumbo up front.
Torino are the only team against whom Cagliari midfielder Nahitan Nandez has scored more than one goal in Serie A - including his very first strike in the Italian top flight, back in October 2019 at Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino.
Torino possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Schuurs, Buongiorno, Rodriguez; Bellanova, Ilic, Ricci, Vojvoda; Karamoh, Vlasic; Sanabria
Cagliari possible starting lineup:
Radunovic; Zappa, Dossena, Goldaniga, Augello; Nandez, Sulemana, Makoumbou, Jankto; Shomurodov, Luvumbo
We say: Torino 1-0 Cagliari
After two years at the helm in Turin, Ivan Juric has fully imprinted his methods on a well-drilled Torino team that remains mostly unchanged from last season. Such continuity should help them make a good start on home soil, consigning Cagliari to defeat on their latest Serie A comeback.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
