Monza and Cagliari are heading in opposite directions. Monza sit 16th with four points from six matches, conceding at roughly 2.5 goals per game, while Cagliari have climbed to fourth or fifth on 12-13 points and remain unbeaten in their last four having shipped only three goals all season. One side is trying to stop the rot, the other has conceded three goals in six matches, which is not what most expected of them.
Monza's recent sequence (L D L W L) says most of it and the most recent result was ugly: a 3-1 defeat at Lazio on 11 October that exposed defensive frailties Ivan Juric still hasn't resolved since taking over on 1 July. Cagliari, meanwhile, went to Juventus the same weekend and came away with a 1-1 draw, capping a run that reads D W W W L across their last five. That result at the Allianz Arena felt like confirmation that Fabio Pisacane has genuinely built something defensively coherent rather than simply been lucky.
Both benches are shorter than either manager would like. Juric is missing Lorenzo Lucchesi (suspended after a red card), Matteo Pessina (knee), Jan Ziolkowski (foot) and Idrissa Toure (knee), a damaging set of absences for a side already struggling for defensive organisation. Pisacane has his own injury list (Mattia Felici, Yael Trepy and Riyad Idrissi are all out with knee problems) and is serving a touchline ban forcing him to watch from the stands while his assistants relay instructions. The two managers have never met at first team level, leaving no tactical history to lean on.
Juric sets Monza up in a 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-3 built around high pressing and quick transitions. Without Lucchesi's presence in the back three and Pessina's composure in midfield, coordinating that press becomes even harder and the spaces it opens behind the defensive line will be more exposed than usual. Gustavo Varela has been the main bright spot, scoring four times in his first four or five appearances and Cyril Ngonge adds another option out wide, though they will be coming up against a defensive unit that has conceded only three goals all season. Pisacane's absence from the technical area may limit real time adjustments, though his system does not depend on constant tinkering anyway.
Cagliari operate in a 4-3-2-1 or 4-3-3 built around defensive shape and the counter. Three goals conceded all season is a remarkable number at this level and it did not happen by chance. Daniel Maldini has three or four goals already and Harry Winks has been the engine in midfield. Losing Felici, Trepy and Idrissi takes some creativity out of the equation but the defensive unit remains intact, which is all that really matters for Pisacane's system. If Monza push men forward and lose the ball, Maldini has the pace to get in behind when possession turns over.
Cagliari have won the last two Serie A meetings between these sides, including a 3-0 home win in 2024/25 and their three goals conceded all season makes them harder to crack than anything Juric has faced from them before. Monza's reduced depth, with Lucchesi, Pessina, Ziolkowski and Toure all absent, also leaves them more exposed on dead balls than they would normally be.
Cagliari to win 2-1. The visitors should absorb Monza's early pressing before exploiting the space Juric's high line gives up once possession turns over and with four key absences in defence a clean sheet looks very unlikely for the hosts. Varela's goal a game form in the early weeks suggests he may pull one back but Cagliari reward organisation over ambition and Monza simply do not have the personnel to match them.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
