Torino vs Cagliari Prediction: Another card for Coco against Cagliari

Torino (11th) and Cagliari (14th) are separated by just two points in Serie A after 21 games played and the teams will battle it out against each other next with Il Toro playing host at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino on Friday evening (19:45).

Read my Torino vs Cagliari prediction below to get the lowdown on all the latest team news and match odds, in addition to my two top betting tips for what should be a close contest in Turin.

Team News

Torino midfielder Ali Dembele was sent off for two bookable offences in last Sunday's 1-1 draw at Fiorentina and the 21-year-old Frenchman will serve his one-match suspension against Cagliari.

Dembele will be forced to either watch proceedings from home or the stands, just like injured teammates Ivan Ilic (muscular), Mergim Vojvoda (calf), Duvan Zapata, Emirhan Ilkhan (both ACL) and Perr Schuurs (knee).

However, Karol Linetty and Sebastian Walukiewicz are free to return after each serving a ban for an accumulation of yellow cards in the competition. Walukiewicz is set to return in place of the suspended Dembele, while Linetty will likely start ahead of Adrien Tameze, who covered for him in Florence.

Football Odds

Cagliari's squad is much healthier with only Zito Luvumbo (ankle), who has missed his side's last six games, considered a doubt for Friday's game. The 22-year-old is said to be close to returning, but next week is probably a more realistic date.

After beating Lecce 4-1 last Sunday, Cagliari head coach Davide Nicola could decide to name an unchanged starting XI. Nadir Zortea is one player guaranteed a start as he seeks to score in a fourth successive fixture following a goal in wins over Lecce and Monza (1-2) and a strike in a 1-1 draw against AC Milan at San Siro. Napoli loanee Gianluca Gaetano failed to feature against either Monza or Milan but struck off the bench against Lecce and he will hope that strike will contribute to more minutes on the field this week.

Torino vs Cagliari Odds

Torino haven't won any of their last five matches but are 21/20 favourites to break out of their winless run and beat Cagliari on Friday, implying a probability of 48.8%, while the visitors are 13/5, or a 27.8% chance, to remain unbeaten away from home in 2025 and triumph for a second time in three games on their travels.

Il Toro have drawn four times on the bounce and it's 11/5 for Paolo Vanoli's side to record a fifth successive stalemate.

Former Southampton striker Che Adams is joint-favourite in the anytime goalscorer market alongside fellow Torino forward Antonio Sanabria (both 2/1), with Roberto Piccoli first up for Cagliari at 12/5.

Both Teams to Score - Yes @ 10/11

Only Genoa (nine), Lecce (eight) and Napoli (six) have been involved in fewer games where both teams have scored than Torino (10) in Serie A this season.

Cagliari (11), meanwhile, are only one ahead of Il Toro, although only Empoli (82 per cent) and Udinese (73 per cent) have recorded a higher BTTS percentage on their travels than the Isolani (70 per cent).

Both teams scoring has been a common occurrence for both Torino and Cagliari of late with BTTS - Yes landing in three of Il Toro's last four games and four of Cagliari's last five including all three this calendar year.

Granted, Torino's Serie A matches have typically been low-scoring this season, averaging just 2.2 goals per game, while four of Cagliari's last eight games have featured under 2.5 goals.

However, the recent statistics point towards both teams finding the net on Friday, with Cagliari hitting seven goals across their last three matches.

Furthermore, eight of the last 10 Serie A meetings between these sides have seen both teams score, and in October's reverse fixture in Sardinia, there were five goals as Cagliari won 3-2 at Unipol Domus, with both teams scoring in both halves.

At just under EVS, I think it's a bet worth taking on in Turin.

Player to Receive a Card - Saul Coco (TOR) @ 13/5

Torino defender Saul Coco joined the club in the summer from Spanish side Las Palmas, for whom he was shown six yellows and one red in La Liga last season, while in 2022/23, he was shown eight yellows (no reds) in La Liga 2.

The 25-year-old has already matched last season's yellow card tally in Serie A, earning six cautions in 19 appearances, while he was also booked in one of his two Coppa Italia outings.

Coco managed to avoid any disciplinary action against Fiorentina last weekend, despite committing two fouls, but a yellow was flashed in his direction in the Derby della Mole the previous weekend.

The Equatorial Guinea international is averaging 1.6 fouls per game in Serie A so the fact only three players - Lazio's Nicolo Rovella (nine), Monza's Armando Izzo and Verona's Diego Coppola (both eight) - have picked up more cautions is hardly a surprise.

On Friday, Coco is likely to come into direct contact with Cagliari centre-forward Piccolo who has been fouled, on average, 1.4 times per game in this season's Italian top flight.

Piccolo was fouled twice in the reverse fixture and while neither were committed by Coco, the Torino defender was booked in the 14th minute of that game, making two fouls in total.

At 13/5, Coco is a solid price to receive a seventh yellow of the season.

Offers

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