Cagliari-Palermo

By: Jeremy | December 5th, 2008

Its finally time for one of the better matchups of the year if you are a Cagliari fan. Nothing like a battle with Palermo whose fiery chairman makes Cellino think twice before crowning himself the craziest owner in Serie A. This year is even better as we head into the game in great form and Palermo brings back Ballardini as their coach. As much as Sardinians thumb their nose at anything from Sicily, Ballardini is a hero in Cagliari as he lead them to safety last year when all seemed lost. I for one am glad he is coaching in Serie A.

Both teams come into the match on positive notes. Cagliari has won their past five games at home and their victims arent all the lower level teams. Fiorentina still has to wonder why they couldnt get any points against us. Palermo comes in off a thrashing of Milan and any Serie A fan has to love watching Miccoli and Simplicio ply their trade for Palermo. Despite losing Amauri, this team has some talent, but still sits mid table, three points above Cagliari. Their chairman is not pleased and believes they should be higher up in the table as do most of their fans. The pressure is really on Palermo as a loss this week takes away a lot of the momentum from their Milan game. They expect to beat Cagliari.

Cagliari has to be pleased with their position after losing their first five games. They are playing as well as any team yet still have to watch the relegation spots as safety is still no guarantee despite being five points clear of the bad spots. With Jeda and Acquafresca leading the attack, we dont see much of Larrivey and Matri which can only be good news for the fans. With Cossu supporting the attack from midfield, Conti providing leadership, and Marchetti playing great in goal, fans who are normally cynical with low expectations are starting to think maybe we can look at the teams above us and how can we catch them rather then worrying about teams in the relegation zone. We get a chance this week as a win takes us level with Palermo on points.

It seems like every week I say this is the chance for Cagliari to take the next step. Lately they have been getting results so why not this week. The game is at home, we want to impress Ballardini because he is respected, but most of all, we want to continue to push up the table and worry less about who is below us.

With Palermos offensive explosion last week, this could be a game with some goals, but after thinking the same of last weeks game with Sampdoria, we saw a boring albeit good win. Does the Cagliari that played last week show up or do they play inspired because of Ballardini? Does the Palermo who crushed Milan last week show up or do we see a lethargic bunch that plays like they did against Bologna.

With Cagliari at home, they have to be given an edge, but Palermo to me is always dangerous and I hate playing them. The Ballardini factor is overrated from our side but I think he wants to show his team is better then the team that didnt want to pay him. I think it will be a cautious match with both teams happy for a draw.

Prediction

Cagliari 1-1 Palermo