Cremonese vs Cagliari Prediction: Palestra to make Pezzella pay

Cremonese (13th) and Cagliari (15th) will look to pull further away from relegation trouble on Thursday (17:30 GMT, live on Betfred) when they face off for the first time this season at the Stadio Giovanni Zini in Cremona.

Below are my Cremonese vs Cagliari predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds.

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Team News

Michele Collocolo (groin) misses out again for Cremonese, but Warren Bondo, who was withdrawn in the 29th minute of last Sunday's 1-0 loss at Fiorentina with a muscle injury, could make a quick comeback.

Football Odds

Cagliari will be without knee injury victims Jose Pedro, Andrea Belotti, Mattia Felici and Michael Folorunsho, as well as Alessandro Deiola (thigh), while Sebastiano Esposito (unspecified) is doubtful.

Cremonese vs Cagliari Odds

Cremonese are favourites to win on Thursday, with odds of 11/8 implying a 42.1% probability of success, while Cagliari are 11/5, or a 31.3% chance, to pick up all three points in Cremona.

The draw is offered at 21/10, both teams to score at 10/11, and over 2.5 total goals at 5/4.

Draw No Bet - Cagliari @ 6/5

Cremonese began last month with back-to-back wins against Bologna (1-3) and Lecce (2-0), but those victories were followed by a four-game winless run (D1, L3) to end the calendar year on a low note. La Cremo failed to score in any of those four matches, too.

Cagliari, meanwhile, signed off for Christmas with a 2-2 draw at home to Pisa on December 21 before triumphing 2-1 at Torino six days later. They fell to a 1-0 home defeat to AC Milan in their first contest of 2026 last Friday, but that was no disgrace against a side firmly in the Serie A title race.

Today's Football Fixtures

Cremonese have been solid, if unspectacular, at home, picking up nine points from eight games at the Giovanni Zini, and it's a similar tale for Cagliari on their travels, with Gli Isolani claiming nine points from as many matches.

So, this could be a close contest in Cremona, but if I were to pick a winner between the two teams, I'd go for the visitors, who have been competitive in every away game this season.

Cagliari have suffered four away defeats in Serie A, all against sides who finished in the top seven last season, and in only one of those, a 2-0 reverse at Lazio on November 3, did they lose by more than one goal.

I'm adding the insurance of a draw, though, as Cremonese and Cagliari have experienced six and five stalemates apiece in the league this term.

Player to Receive a Card - Giuseppe Pezzella (CRE) @ 11/4

Cremonese left wing-back Giuseppe Pezzella has picked up four yellow cards in 13 Serie A appearances (12 starts) this season.

The 28-year-old, who is averaging 1.5 fouls per game in 2025/26, was last booked on December 20 in a goalless draw at Lazio.

Pezzella, who was cautioned seven times in 35 top-flight outings (34 starts) for Empoli last season, will have his work cut out on Thursday up against Cagliari's right wing-back Marco Palestra, is averaging three fouls won per game in Serie A this term.

Only Eibar's Aleix Febas (59) and Lazio's Mattia Zaccagni (58) have been fouled more times in Europe's top five leagues this season than the Italian (51), who was chopped down on three occasions against Milan last week.

Clearly, he is someone that opponents struggle to defend against, and if he isn't careful, Pezzella could bring up card number five of the campaign on Thursday.