Serie A Preview: Napoli vs Cagliari – Team News, Line-ups & Prediction | OneFootball

Stadio Diego Armando Maradona forms the backdrop for an exciting Serie A round-two clash between Napoli and Cagliari. It caps off Saturday’s schedule in Italy’s elite division as Antonio Conte’s men seek another win before going into September’s international break.

Goals from last season’s MVP Scott McTominay and newcomer Kevin De Bruyne inspired Napoli to a comfortable 2-0 win at newly promoted Sassuolo on matchday one. In doing so, the Partenopei extended their unbeaten Serie A streak to 13 matches (W8, D5).

Boasting the longest unbeaten run across Europe’s top-five leagues, Napoli head into proceedings as huge favorites to make it 14 in a row. Playing at the Maradona Stadium for the first time in 2025/26 can only reinforce Napoli’s belief that they will start the new season with back-to-back wins.

On the other hand, perennial strugglers Cagliari held Fiorentina to a 1-1 draw last weekend but have since lost their standout striker, Roberto Piccoli, to the same opponent. Nonetheless, new manager Fabio Pisacane claimed a decent result on his touchline debut, perhaps setting the tone for a more resilient campaign.

Cagliari barely avoided relegation last term and look set for another season-long fight against the drop. Perhaps the loan arrivals of Michael Folorunsho and Sebastiano Esposito could help the club offset Piccoli’s departure, with questions hovering over their scoring capacity.

Match Preview

Napoli

As aforementioned, Napoli’s league form is second to none in Europe’s traditional top-five divisions. Furthermore, Conte’s charges have won eight of their last 11 home outings in Serie A (D3), increasing the likelihood of maintaining an impressive matchday-two record.

Indeed, Napoli have won on Gameweek 2 in the last five seasons, including a 3-0 demolition of Bologna at this stadium in their title-winning 2024/25 campaign. Another win without conceding is a distinct possibility, considering they’ve become synonymous with defensive solidity under Conte.

Napoli were the only team in Serie A to concede under 30 goals last term (27). Moreover, they’ve capitulated more than once in only one of their previous 13 league games. Particularly cagey in the first half, they’ve shipped just one goal before halftime in their last 12 fixtures.

Considering they humbled Cagliari by 2+ goals to nil in both league encounters last season, it’s hard to look past another routine victory for the home side.

Cagliari

The visitors cannot be thrilled about facing Napoli this early in the season, as they hope to find their feet under Pisacane and build momentum. Damage limitation may be at the forefront of Cagliari’s mind, not least because they have only won one of their last 28 league matches against this opposition (D8, L19).

Although only success in that stretch came at this ground in 2019, it’s worth noting that Cagliari have conceded at least two goals in 11 of their last 13 visits to Naples. Cagliari’s away form toward the end of the previous campaign was dire, producing just one win from ten league fixtures on the road (D3, L6).

Therefore, Pisacane must find a cure for Cagliari’s travel sickness to boost their chances of looking up rather than down. However, expecting him to do so on Napoli’s home ground looks far-fetched. Finding an opening goal could be decisive, knowing six of Cagliari’s last nine away league fixtures have seen one or both teams fail to score.

Team News

Napoli will be without star striker Romelu Lukaku. With the Belgian facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines, Rasmus Hojlund is on his way to joining Conte’s team from Manchester United on loan. However, Lorenzo Lucca will lead the line this weekend. In addition to Lukaku, new arrival Miguel Gutierrez is out with an ankle injury.

As for Cagliari, long-serving stalwart Leonardo Pavoletti is not in contention. The same goes for goalkeeper Boris Radunovic. Esposito will likely take Pavoletti’s place in attack, with ex-Napoli stopper Elia Caprile set to replace Radunovic in goal.

Napoli vs Cagliari Potential Starting Line-ups

Napoli (4-2-3-1): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Jesus, Olivera; Anguissa, Lobotka; Politano, De Bruyne, McTominay; Lucca.

Cagliari (3-5-2): Caprile; Luperto, Mina, Obert; Zappa, Adopo, Prati, Folorunsho, Idrissi; Luvumbo, Esposito.

Napoli vs Cagliari Prediction

Napoli’s formidable home form and rock-solid defense under Conte make them overwhelming favorites to take all three points. Cagliari’s poor away record further tilts the balance toward the reigning champions.

With that in mind, we expect Napoli to cruise to another comfortable win, likely by a margin of two or more goals.