The Coppa Italia round of 16 tie between Napoli and Cagliari will take place on December 3 at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples. Napoli – Cagliari: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Napoli
For Antonio Conte's side this will be their first match in the current national cup. Interestingly, Napoli have never progressed beyond the round of 16 in the last four seasons, and in last season's edition they were eliminated at this same stage by Lazio (1-3). In Coppa Italia ties, the Neapolitans have failed to win in regulation time in 7 of their last 8 matches (4 draws, 3 defeats). Moreover, in 5 of their previous 7 domestic cup matches the team conceded at least two goals over 90 minutes.
- The club avoided defeat in regulation time in 11 of their last 12 home Coppa Italia matches (6 wins, 5 draws).
- At least three goals were scored in 6 of the club's last 8 home ties in this competition.
- Napoli failed to score in the second half in 10 of their last 14 home matches in the national cup.
Predicted Napoli line-up (3-4-3)
Vanja Milinkovic-Savic – Alessandro Buongiorno, Amir Rrahmani, Sam Beukema – Matias Olivera, Stanislav Lobotka, Scott McTominay, Giovanni Di Lorenzo – David Neres, Rasmus Hojlund, Noa Lang.
Goalkeeper Alex Meret, defender Miguel Gutierrez, midfielders André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Billy Gilmour and Kevin De Bruyne, and forward Romelu Lukaku will miss the match through injury.
Cagliari
Fabio Pisacane's side have already overcome two opponents in this season's Coppa Italia. Cagliari first got past Virtus Entella (1-1, 5-4 on penalties) and then beat Frosinone 4-1, with both ties played at home. The Sardinians have reached the round of 16 for the third consecutive edition of the national cup, but they have not progressed beyond this stage since the 2005/06 season.
- The club have not won in their last seven away Coppa Italia matches (1 draw, 6 defeats).
- At least three goals were scored in 7 of the team's last 10 away ties in this competition.
- Cagliari failed to score more than once in seven of their last away matches in the national cup.
Predicted Cagliari line-up (3-5-2)
Elia Caprile – Gabriele Zappa, Adam Obert, Sebastiano Luperto – Alessandro Deiola, Marco Palestra, Joseph Liteta, Michael Folorunsho, Michel Adopo – Gennaro Borrelli, Sebastiano Esposito.
Defender Yerry Mina and forward Andrea Belotti are unavailable due to injury.
Referee
Juan Luca Sacchi (Italy)
Matches – 13 (Serie A, 2024/25–2025/26);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 40;
Average yellow cards per match – 3.1;
Red cards shown – 2;
Average fouls per match – 25;
Penalties – 15%.
Prediction for Napoli – Cagliari
Napoli have historically underperformed in the national cup, which should give Conte's team added motivation heading into this tie. I expect the hosts to play proactively in attack, particularly given their recent scoring form at home in this competition. In their last eight home cup matches the team netted a total of 16 goals. Additionally, in three of the last four league meetings at home the Neapolitans scored twice.
Cagliari have felt vulnerable away from home: six defeats in their last seven away cup fixtures. The visitors have primarily suffered from defensive frailties, shipping 18 goals over that period, including four matches in which opponents scored at least three. It is also worth noting that in 6 of their last 7 league fixtures Cagliari have conceded at least two goals.
I think Antonio Conte's side will break down the visitors' defence at least twice. My prediction: Napoli to score over 1.5 goals
* The starting line-up shown for each team is from their previous match.
