Cagliari vs Bologna: Home Side Primed to Punish Struggling Visitors
Bologna arrive at matchweek 8 having lost three of their last six — and Cagliari fancy their chances
Three wins, one draw, two defeats. On paper that's a fairly modest recent run for Cagliari, but set it against what Bologna have managed — one win, two draws, three losses, conceding nine goals in the process — and suddenly Saturday's Serie A matchweek 8 clash looks like a genuine opportunity for the home side to press on. Bologna lost 1-3 to Inter, then scraped a 1-1 with Torino, then lost again. The pattern is not hard to spot.
Cagliari are not without their own inconsistency, let's be honest. That 4-0 hammering at Monza is not the kind of result you stick on the fridge, and they've shipped seven goals across their last six matches. But they bounced back from that Monza nightmare to beat Udinese 1-0 away from home, and held Juventus to a 1-1 draw, which is a different kind of statement entirely. A. Romano has been the one player to find the net in our records this season, with a goal in two appearances, while M. Adopo has quietly been one of the more creative presences in midfield — five key passes in just two appearances is a number that deserves more attention than it usually gets. For fantasy football players watching Serie A, Adopo offers something beyond the obvious names.
Here's the thing about Bologna — they are genuinely short of firepower right now. R. Piccoli is out with a muscle injury, R. Orsolini is sidelined with a hamstring problem until early November, and E. Holm is gone until January 2027. That's three key players unavailable, with the right side of their attack and a first-choice striker both missing. F. Bernardeschi carries three key passes in two appearances and L. Ferguson has four, so there is creativity buried in there, but A. Dovbyk has contributed nothing in 62 minutes at striker. In a match preview context, it's hard to build a case for Bologna hurting Cagliari enough when their attacking options are this depleted.
Cagliari are also dealing with absences — M. Felici is out with a cruciate ligament tear, Riyad Idrissi similarly, and Y. Trepy is unavailable through injury too — but their depth across 32 registered players gives them more room to manoeuvre than Bologna's 25. The only previous meeting in our records ended 0-0, so goals between these two have not always flowed, but Bologna's defensive record across six matches — nine conceded — suggests E. Caprile in the Cagliari goal might not be called upon as heavily as Skorupski at the other end. Caprile made seven saves across his two appearances and kept a clean sheet. Those numbers matter in a game like this. Cagliari to take it.
| Bologna v Cagliari | 0–0 | May 2026 |
