Cagliari-Livorno-Put Up or Shut Up Part 1

After three weeks of ducking and dodging against some of the better teams in Serie A and justifiably getting some points restored, Cagliari now moves on to a game against a relegation rival Livorno in the first of two games that will likely determine where the Rossoblu play next year.

Just a couple of months ago, Cagliari was so far buried in relegation that no one really thought this game or any game in the last six weeks of the season would mean much. With some strong play in the second half of the season including some great wins against teams like Atalanta and Genoa combined with some points earned in games against Sampdoria and Roma, Cagliari now finds itself in the mix to get one of the last safe spots in Serie A for next year.

Cagliaris position in the standings was also helped by teams like Empoli and Livorno just playing like crap. They are the second half Cagliaris. The end result is that these teams are now in pretty much equal positions and these games will determine everything. Any Cagliari supporter has to be happy that we have this chance to win some games against beatable opponents in the last few weeks of the season and for the matches to mean something.

The question is which Cagliari team will show up to play this week. Is it the Cagliari that controlled Atalanta and Sampdoria and played tough enough to earn a draw against Roma or will it be the team that played defensive boring football in the first half of the season and then reappeared last week against Milan after a nice run of positive play.

Livorno is on the downward slope and is the kind of team Cagliari needs to play after their dismal performance last week in Milan. Although this game will be played in Livornos stadium and Cagliari seems to suck on the road, Livorno is not a very good home team and has the worst home record in Serie A this year. Still its better to be at home so dont discount that edge for Livorno and if I am management, I let everyone in free to pack the stands. As you wind down the season, Id rather my road games be against teams like Livorno who are in poor form and can be beaten at home. Livorno has lately resorted to worrying about relegation and blaming refs for game results. This is the sign of a team running scared and fearing for their Serie A lives. So you would think this is a good week to have them appear on the schedule. That is what I thought with Milan last week. Luckily what little talent Livorno has is underperforming so I doubt they come out like Milan did last week. Cagliari also wont be as scared as they clearly were against Milan.

This game is a real toss up. I would expect both teams to play very scared and very defensive football. A win for one of these clubs will be huge. I am concerned about Ballardinis tactics in light of last weeks game against Milan. If Jeda and Acquafresca are not in the lineup, he clearly has not learned who is bringing this team back into contention to stay in Serie A. Matri has scored a couple of big goals this year, but he sucks and should not start in place of an in form Acquafresca. Lets hope Ballardini watches some game film from the Torino and Genoa matches and gets the right players in there.

Cagliari gets Livorno and then Empoli in the next two weeks. If we want to survive we must win both. Draws or losses are not an option with three games coming up against Inter, Fiorentina, and Udinese before we close out with Reggina. We need to get nine points from these remaining games to surivive in my opinion and it starts this week. Lets hope the coaches and players understand that all of their hard work to climb back up the standings will likely mean nothing if they lose this week.

In a real boring tight late in the season relegation battle, I will go with Cagliari as a goal will come from somewhere and nothing will get past Storari.

Prediction Livorno 0-1 Cagliari

Category: Cagliari, Serie A

Tags: Cagliari, Serie A

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