Fiorentina-Cagliari

By: Jeremy | April 10th, 2009

This weekend brings us a full schedule of games on Saturday as the importance of Easter Sunday in Italy goes without saying. One of the games sees our beloved Isolani travel to Florence to face a Fiorentina team trying to get back in the Champions League positions. Just as important, Cagliari is trying to find its way into a UEFA Cup spot. As we inch closer to the end of the season, games like these can make or break a teams season. We are level on points with Palermo trying to chase down an inconsistent and seemingly unmotivated Roma team.

These teams have had some ups and downs lately which include results that have to leave the supporters slightly frustrated despite their overall solid positions. Lets look at each of results in the past five weeks:

Cagliari Fiorentina
Catania W Atalanta W
Bologna W Siena W
Genoa L Inter L
Chievo D Palermo L
Torino D Reggina D

Both teams seem to have righted their ships after a couple of games where the results were not good. Cagliari still has to be a bit upset about the Genoa match as a win in that game would have made this weekends game even more meaningful to both teams. More points should have been obtained from the Chievo and Torino matches.

If Fiorentina is going to qualify for the Champions League, they have to win games against teams like Cagliari. While a loss to Inter is expected and even Palermo can beat any team on any day, but drawing with bottom Reggina is a problem. They seem to have righted things a bit by doing what needed to be done to beat Atalanta and Siena in the same fashion Cagliari did with Catania. Not impressive wins, but wins that allow the following matches to have more meaning.

So what can we expect this weekend? Good news for Cagliari is that Fiorentina has an injury problem. Mutu, their best player, is out and that will allow us to key more on Gilardino, who has had a great year for them. Koldrop and Jorgensen amongst others are also out. Their depth will be tested this weekend and that will help us. With their rival for fourth, Genoa, having to play Juve, Fiorentina will see this as their week to get back into 4th.

Cagliari has a full squad and it is just a matter of which team will show up. While tightly packed defenses and no offensive imagination can win games against the likes of Bologna and Catania, and occasionally can get points at home against a top team, on the road against Fiorentina this style will not work. I think Allegri understands this and the teams performance on the road against Inter and Juve showed what must be done to have a chance to win. The talent is there do it so will the players show up? We need big performances from Acquafresca and Jeda and as of late that has not happened. If Acquafresca does not want to be playing for another mid level Serie A team next year, he needs to put some goals in on a big stage. This weekend is a big stage. There must also be an outstanding game from either Cossu or Biondini. This also assumes Marchetti is his usual self in goal.

Cagliari won the first game this year 1-0 at home in a game Fiorentina felt they should have done better. We got dominated 5-1 last year in Florence and we could not keep up offensive. If the game is wide open again this year we will be better.

I am not overly impressed with either team right now but that comes from expecting Fiorentina to finish in the top four and now I do not think they will and Cagliari not looking impressive recently despite some decent results the past couple of weeks. Cagliari has gone beyond expectations, but with these results fans want more. The Genoa loss was not their fault and Chievo is improved and the draw with Torino at home was just a bad game. Despite wins the past two weeks, Cagliari must turn it up a notch to beat Fiorentina and I wonder if they can do it as we have not seen an impressive result in some time. We need to see that wide open offensive minded football that they can play.

That being said, dont be surprised to see Cagliari get a result of some kind this weekend. Allegri will have the guys motivated and they will know they are getting another chance to make a move up the standings. Fiorentinas injury issues may offset that home field advantage but offensively, even without Mutu, they are better then we are. Our rivals have some tough matches so the standings can really tighten up this weekend and a win makes the Genoa match, a game that still pisses me off, a little easier to forget.

I am hoping for a high scoring game in the mold of the Juve match. We can run these guys into the ground. If I am asked to predict the game however, I would say Fiorentina finds a way to win purely because they are at home. It will not be easy for them though.

Prediction

Fiorentina 2-1 Cagliari