The time for experiments, friendlies, and tests is over; starting tonight, every match counts. Cagliari-Virtus Entella is the official debut for Fabio Pisacane's team, and it's worth a spot in the Coppa Italia round of 32, against either Monza or Frosinone at the end of September. The dress rehearsal is at 8:45 pm at the Unipol Domus for the championship that begins in a week, in a do-or-die match against a Serie B opponent who has already played, beating Ternana 4-0 last Saturday, led by former Rossoblu player Fabio Liverani. And it was precisely during the interregnum between Liverani and Ranieri that Pisacane coached Cagliari, on December 26, 2022, against Cosenza, but this will have a decidedly different feel because he now holds the helm .
For the first match, the debuting coach will be without Sebastiano Luperto, who hasn't recovered from the ailments that kept him out for the entire pre-season. Assuming the three-man defense, almost always seen in friendlies, is confirmed for now, Alessandro Deiola, who has featured in the center several times in previous tests, is a good option. Otherwise, former Primavera player Nicola Pintus will be available. The other doubt is on the left, with Adam Obert moving to the third center back and only Riyad Idrissi remaining as a defensive midfielder. Therefore, either the return from loan (he was at Modena) will be given credence or one of Gabriele Zappa and an adapted Nadir Zortea will be given a spot. Up front, the Piccoli-Luvumbo duo includes newcomers Sebastiano Esposito and Semih Kılıçsoy, but they're still lagging behind in fitness and will need more time.
Mario Perri of the Roma 1 section will referee the Cagliari-Virtus Entella match . If the score is tied after 90 minutes, the match will go straight to penalties, with no extra time. Here are the probable lineups.
Cagliari (3-5-2): Caprile; Mina, Deiola, Obert; Zortea, Adopo, Prati, Folorunsho, Zappa; Luvumbo, Piccoli. Coach: Pisacane.
Virtus Entella (3-5-2): Colombi; Marconi, Tiritiello, Parodi; Boccadamo, Karić, Benali, Di Mario; Guiu, Russo. Coach: Chiappella.