Serie A comes into its penultimate round of fixtures this weekend with so much still undecided. The Champions League places aside, everything that was up for grabs in August remains on the line now in mid-May, and both the title and the relegation places will be affected by what happens as Inter take on Cagliari in Sardinia in Sunday’s late game.
The reigning champions make the trip to face the Isolani in something of a tricky position, knowing that their grip on the title might well have slipped almost entirely by the time they even kick off, with AC Milan having the chance to go within a point of being confirmed as their cross-city rivals’ successors with a win over Atalanta earlier in the evening.
At the bottom, Venezia became the first team to be relegated this season as Salernitana drew at Empoli on Saturday afternoon, a result which would have had Cagliari sweating while watching on from home. The Rossoblu are now under all the more pressure to deliver a result, with the Campania side two points above them but with a game more played.
In what is their final home game of the season as well, Cagliari will have to deliver a performance in front of their own fans for what could be their last time in the top flight for at least a year. There’s a lot to motivate the hosts and, as a result, it wouldn’t be a great surprise to see them start well on Sunday night.
Cagliari v Inter Milan Bet Builder Tips
Ivan Perisic to Score or Assist
Few, if any, players have been as important to Simone Inzaghi’s Inter this season as Ivan Perisic, and that the Croatian is just two games away from potentially leaving the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on a free transfer is something that a lot of Inter fans are struggling to wrap their heads around. He could, though, bow out as a back-to-back Italian champion and will want to contribute to their attempted title defence just as much as he did in their Coppa Italia win over Juventus in midweek.
In Rome, Perisic netted twice in quick succession in extra time to see Inter get the better of their Derby d’Italia rivals and claim the Coppa Italia for their second piece of silverware of the season, and his goals were no more than his performances this term have warranted.
Antonio Conte can take a lot of the credit for converting the former winger into a wing-back en route to the 2020/21 title, and Inzaghi has benefited from his predecessor’s work. The ex-Lazio boss’ use of wing-backs has allowed Perisic to stay integral, with Denzel Dumfries on the other flank being an important player in the final third as well.
Time and again Perisic has been key when the Nerazzurri have needed someone to step forward, and he has found a second wind this season to keep January signing – and arguably Serie A’s best left-sided player in recent seasons – Robin Gosens watching on from the bench since his arrival.
With nine goals and eight assists across all competitions for Inter this season, the Croatian has proven to be a regular threat. If you back him to score or assist at any time against Cagliari, Paddy Power are offering odds of 1.83.
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Prediction: Ivan Perisic to Score or Assist
Over 2.5 Goals
Antonio Conte had promised to stop Inter from being crazy, and the now-Spurs boss did manage to shake off the label of ‘Pazza Inter’ during his time in Milan, but that has found its way back to them at times this season.
The recent stumble away to Bologna (a 2-1 loss) and the aforementioned 4-2 win over Empoli are just two of the most recent examples of Inter perhaps reverting to type, but they do at least guarantee entertainment for the neutral, even if their own fans can be left pulling their hair out watching them pass up chance after chance.
Goals are rarely far away from Inter, at least domestically, as back-to-back 4-2s would attest to. To find the last game of Inter’s wherein fewer than 2.5 goals were scored, you have to go back as far as 9th April, then beating a tricky Hellas Verona side 2-0. They’ve played seven games since, seeing 29 goals scored at either end.
Cagliari themselves will be desperate for a result at home in their battle against the drop, so seeing the Rossoblu score – or even open the scoring – won’t be a great surprise, less so given that Inter have failed to keep a clean sheet since beating Milan 3-0 on 19th April, and their last shutout in Serie A came in that win over Verona.
As a result, Paddy Power offering odds of 1.45 for there to be at least 2.5 goals in this one seems to be too good to turn down.
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Prediction: Over 2.5 Goals
Lautaro Martinez to Score Anytime
When Inter have really needed someone to step up and carry the weight of pressure on their forwards, Lautaro Martinez has done just that at the back end of this season.
The Argentinian forward scored twice last time out as the Nerazzurri had to fight from 2-0 behind against Empoli to claim three vital points, and while he didn’t score in their midweek Coppa Italia win he did win a penalty that led to a goal.
A hat-trick against Salernitana on 4th March saw him end a drought that had hung over him since December, and he hasn’t looked back since, going on to terrorise both AC Milan and Liverpool and, at times, help Inter blow teams away in Serie A.
It’s thought that he will start alongside compatriot Joaquin Correa in Sardinia this weekend, and he has tended to fare better when playing with the former Lazio man by his side than he has with Edin Dzeko leading the line with him.
Given his recent form, it’s hard to back against him scoring, and you can get odds of 2.0 for him to net at any time on Sunday night.
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Prediction: Lautaro Martinez to Score Anytime
Written by an Andy verified content writer
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How to watch Cagliari v Inter Milan in Serie A
📅 When is Cagliari v Inter Milan? / Sunday, 15th May 2022, 19:45
🏟 Where is Cagliari v Inter Milan? / Unipol Domus (Cagliari)
📺 What TV channel is Cagliari v Inter Milan? / BT Sport 1
🟨 …And who is the referee for Cagliari v Inter Milan? / Daniele Doveri 🇮🇹
