Live: Cagliari vs Inter Milan Bet Builder Tips and Player Props: Sturdy Sardinians might bother the Neroazzurri

Cagliari vs Inter Milan concludes match day two in Italy, and it promises to be a fascinating encounter between two teams with different ambitions, but both with a strong identity.

Each side started the campaign as they wanted, three points for Inter and a solid away performance for Cagliari, who grew in the second half against Torino.

For their Serie A home debut (7.45pm KO on Monday, 28 August), the newly promoted Sardinians could represent a tough challenge for last year’s Champions League finalist.

• Most Goals To Be Scored in Second Half
• Under 3.5 Goals
• Lautaro Martinez Anytime Goalscorer

Bet Builder odds: 7.00

Italy, Serie A, Monday, August 28th, 19:45 (UK)

Odds via bet365 as at 09:00, August 23rd 2023. Odds may now differ.

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Cagliari vs Inter Milan: Inter usually delivers against Cagliari

• Inter are unbeaten in the last eight games against the Rossublù.
• Since April 2018, Inter have won 8 games, drawn one and lost one (Cagliari v Inter 2-1, in 2019).
• Cagliari have drawn four of the last five Serie A games played on Monday.
• Simone Inzaghi and Claudio Ranieri faced each other three times between 2019 and 2021, with two wins for the Inter manager and one for Ranieri.
• Lautaro Martinez has scored eight goals in eight matches against the Sardinians.

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Cagliari vs Inter Milan Bet Builder Tips: the hosts could produce an upset (…if it’s a tight game)

Most Goals in Second Half

Of the three newly promoted sides, Cagliari is undoubtedly the most experienced one.

They can count on players such as Edoardo Goldaniga, Nahitan Nandez and Jakub Jankto, who have got a respectable number of Serie A seasons under their belts, as well as some promising youngsters (Zito Luvumbu and Ibrahim Sulemana) who looked accomplished in their top-flight debut against Torino.

It’s challenging to make a prediction based on last season’s results when Cagliari was playing in Serie B. Still, the Sardinians finished the year with the third-best defence at home (only 17 conceded), keeping four clean sheets since January.

With Claudio Ranieri, you know what you’re going to get: Cagliari will pack the midfield, leaving Inter academy product Gaetano Oristanio up top, and will try to hit on the break with Luvumbo.

Inter under Simone Inzaghi usually start games strongly; Lautaro Martinez gave them the lead against Monza within ten minutes and has the quality and the depth in midfield to administer the match once they take the lead.

However, last year, they also had a tendency to fail to kill games off, especially when they played away: They suffered comebacks against Udinese, Monza and Salernitana, which resulted in seven points lost. Last Saturday, they had many chances, but precision was missing.

We can expect Cagliari to present as robust and tough to break down – so much so that they may be able to get to the break without conceding. At 2.00, the most goals to be scored in the second half feel like value.

Under 3.5 Goals

In fact, Inter shot 22 times (the second-highest tally in the opening Serie A weekend) towards Monza’s goal but hit the target only on three occasions.

The Neroazzurri were worthy winners but, at times, lacked sharpness and sound decision-making.

Despite having a good game, Marcus Thuram did not threaten Monza’s keeper: he rarely stepped into the opposition’s box and looked more comfortable when he had space to run into it.

The Frenchman, who hasn’t scored a goal for Inter in pre-season, might start against Cagliari, but it’s likely that, especially against teams that will sit deep, Simone Inzaghi will eventually choose Marko Arnautovic as Lautaro Martinez’s partner from the first minute.

Inter have lost experienced players in the transfer market, and many believe that, especially in attack, they’re not stronger compared to last season.

The defence, enriched by the important signing of Benjamin Pavard this week, looks like Inter’s most solid position, and this could lead to a low-scoring game.

Lautaro Martinez Anytime Goalscorer

If you follow Serie A, you’d know that there isn’t a more ‘streaky’ striker than the Argentine number 10. When the Neroazzurri captain feels confident, he normally delivers for a few weeks in a row, but, on the other hand, his dry spells might last up to six to eight games.

He started the season with two well-taken goals against Monza, and last year; he scored three times in a row between matchday two and four. He also scored in other four streaks of two games or more in Serie A, equalling his record of 21 goals.

With the departures of Edin Džeko and Romelu Lukaku, Lautaro is, more than ever, Inter’s main man: it is unlikely he’ll get substituted in these first matches, as Inter, like the majority of the teams, have no midweek matches.

Inter will dominate possession at the Sardegna Arena, and their wingbacks, Federico Dimaro and Denzel Dumfries, will play very high and deliver crosses.

Lautaro has scored eight goals in eight appearances against Cagliari and netted a brace in Inter’s last trip to the island (3-1 victory). Do I need to say more?

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