Wednesday’s Coppa Italia first-round clash at Unipol Domus sees recently relegated Cagliari welcome Virtus Entella, the Serie C playoff semi-finalists, for a place in the last-32. With both clubs in transition, the tie offers an early-season gauge of squad depth and tactical identity.
**Form & Fitness**
Cagliari finished 18th in last season’s Serie A and changed coach in June, appointing 42-year-old Davide Dionigi to oversee a youthful rebuild. Pre-season was mixed: a 3-1 win over Olbia, a draw with Cannes and a 2-0 loss to Valencia. Key absentees are defender Giorgio Altare (ankle) and midfielder Marko Rog (knee), while new signing Zito Luvumbo is expected to start after a bright cameo against Valencia.
Virtus Entella ended 2022-23 in 6th place of Serie C Group A, losing to eventual winners Vicenza in the playoffs. Coach Marco Amelia has kept the 4-3-1-2 that drove that surge, but the squad lost top scorer Giuseppe Panico to Ternana. The Ligurians warmed up with victories over Serie D sides Finale and Virtus Bolzano, scoring seven without reply, yet their last competitive match was 40 days ago.
**Tactical Match-up**
Dionigi is experimenting with both 4-2-3-1 and 3-5-2; either way, Cagliari’s tempo will be dictated by loanee Gianluca Gaetano and January breakout João Pedro. Expect high full-back presses from Gabriele Zappa and the overlapping Charalampos Lykogiannis to pin Entella’s wing-backs. Entella will rely on veteran playmaker Luca Clemenza to spring rapid counter-attacks for strikers Matteo Brunori and the physical Mamadou Kanouté, testing Cagliari’s high line.
**Key Battles**
– **João Pedro vs Entella’s double pivot**: The Brazilian has freedom between the lines; if Entella’s holding mids step out, space opens for Luvumbo’s diagonal runs.
– **Clemenza’s channel balls vs Cagliari’s centre-backs**: Without Altare, 20-year-old Simone Aresti may partner Alberto Dossena; both are quick but inexperienced at reading long diagonals.
– **Set pieces**: Entella scored 31% of their 2022-23 goals from dead-balls; Cagliari conceded 13 from corners last Serie A season, a vulnerability Dionigi has drilled daily.
**Odds & Prediction**
Bookmakers price Cagliari at 1.55, Entella at 6.50, implying a 65% win probability for the hosts. That looks fair: deeper rotation options, home advantage and superior individual quality should tilt a tight contest. Entella’s energy and playoff-honed cohesion can frustrate for 60 minutes, but expect Cagliari’s fresh legs off the bench—summer recruits Jakub Jankto and Kingstone Mutandwa—to make the difference.
**Score prediction**: Cagliari 2-0 Virtus Entella
**Goal-scorers**: João Pedro (pen.), Luvumbo
