Our prediction for this Serie A match:
Cagliari
Match Time & Date:
30/12/2023
08:00 AM
Prediction: 1-1
Empoli
Cagliari will look to make amends for back-to-back defeats to Napoli and Verona when they face Empoli in the Serie A round 18. The Rossoblu are desperate to escape the relegation zone, but this match will be anything but a walk in the park for Claudio Ranieri’s troops. Midfielder Antoine Makoumbou serves a one-game ban, while both Eldor Shomurodov and Marko Rog miss out with injuries.
The Azzurri, on the other hand, are on a five-game winless run in the Serie A ahead of Saturday’s relegation six-pointer. As Empoli are determined to pick up all three points from the match as well, both teams to score betting option should be considered. The visitors will be without Francesco Caputo, Bartosz Bereszynski, Gabriele Guarino, and Giuseppe Pezzella in the festive fixture. In their last meeting in the Italian top flight the two teams played out a 1-1 draw.
Highlighted Player (Mattia Destro):
Mattia Destro started his youth career at Ascoli, but in 2005 he moved to Inter. The Italian attacker, though, made his debut in the Serie A with Genoa in the 2010/2011 season. He scored 2 goals in 16 appearances for the Rossoblu and at the end of the season he signed a deal with Siena. Destro netted 12 goals for Siena in 30 league appearances for the club and on 30 July, 2012 he joined fellow Serie A team Roma for a fee of €8.5 million.
The Italian footballer made his debut for the capital club on 2 September, 2012 in a 3-1 victory over Inter. Destro scored 24 goals for Roma between 2012 and 2015 and after ending his loan spell with Milan he joined Bologna on 20 August, 2015.
Speaking of his international career, the Bologna forward has 15 caps for Italy U21 and he made his debut for the senior team on 15 August, 2012 against England at Wembley Stadium. He made Italy’s 2014 provisional FIFA World Cup squad, but he eventually failed to make the final roster.
Highlighted Team (Cagliari):
Cagliari are a professional football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia. I Rossoblu (The Red and Blues) compete in Italian Serie A and the club’s biggest success came in 1970, when they won the national championship.
Cagliari finished the season in top position in the standings, four points clear of Juventus and it has to be noted that Luigi Riva led Cagliari to their first Serie A trophy.
I Rossoblu welcome their rivals at Stadio Sant’Elia and the capacity of the stadium is 16,000. In the 1993/1994 season Cagliari made it to the UEFA Cup semis, with the team suffering a loss to fellow Italian club Inter in the two-legged tie.
Giuseppe Pancaro helped Cagliari record a 3-2 win over Inter in the first leg, but I Rossoblu were hammered by the Nerazzurri in the second leg (3-0). Palermo are regarded as Cagliari’s main rivals and the two teams square off against each other in the Derby delle Isole.
Man City 
Everton
Liverpool
Burnley
Tottenham
Brighton
AS Roma
Inter
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayern Munich 
Nottingham Forest 
Newcastle 
