SPAL will be looking to boost their already-slim hopes of escaping the Serie A relegation zone when they welcome Cagliari to Stadio Paolo Mazza on Tuesday night.
The home side are currently 19th in the table, seven points from the safety of 17th position, while Cagliari, who have lost their last four in the league, occupy 12th spot.
Match preview
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SPAL have been a Serie A side for the last three seasons, but there is no question that the club are in serious danger of dropping back into the second tier for the 2020-21 campaign.
Luigi Di Biagio replaced Leonardo Semplici as head coach of the club in February, and the 49-year-old faces a big task to keep the White and Blues in the division.
SPAL have lost five of their last six in the league, but they picked up a huge three points away to Parma on March 8 before the campaign was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Gli Spallini are currently 19th in the table, two points ahead of bottom side Brescia and seven behind Genoa in 17th; their situation is not terminal at this stage but victories will have to start arriving sooner rather than later if they are to escape the bottom three before the end of the season.
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Cagliari were back in Serie A action on Saturday night, but it was not a happy return for the club as they suffered a 2-1 defeat at Hellas Verona as the team's poor form continued.
Walter Zenga's side have now lost their last four in Serie A and are without a victory in the league since early December, which is an indication of their struggles over the last few months.
Gli Isolani currently sit 12th in the table, seven points clear of the relegation zone, which is a healthy advantage but could quickly diminish if they continue to pick up disappointing results.
Cagliari were relegated to Serie B at the end of the 2014-15 campaign before securing an immediate return, and they have finished 16th and 15th in their last two seasons at this level of football.
SPAL Serie A form: LLLLLW
Cagliari Serie A form: DDLLLL
Team News
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SPAL will be without the services of first-choice goalkeeper Etrit Berisha, potentially for the remainder of the season, due to a hand injury.
Fellow stopper Karlo Letica is struggling with a thigh problem, meanwhile, meaning that Demba Thiam could be in line to make his debut for the Italian side between the sticks.
Andrea Petagna has enjoyed an impressive season in the final third, scoring 11 Serie A goals, and the 24-year-old is expected to lead the home side's line on Tuesday.
As for Cagliari, Joao Pedro is back from a suspension, but Luca Cigarini will serve a ban of his own due to the red card that he picked up in the defeat to Verona.
Christian Oliva, Radja Nainggolan and Paolo Farago are all still on the sidelines through injury, meanwhile, and the same can be said for Leonardo Pavoletti, who is expected to miss the rest of the campaign.
Giovanni Simeone was on the scoresheet at the weekend, and the 24-year-old is likely to keep his spot in the final third of the field.
SPAL possible starting lineup:
Thiam; Cionek, Vicari, Bonifazi, Reca; Missiroli, Valdifiori; Murgia, Valoti, Fares; Petagna
Cagliari possible starting lineup:
Cragno; Cacciatore, Klavan, Pisacane; Ionita, Nandez, Pedro, Rog, Pellegrini; Simeone, Pereiro
We say: SPAL 1-1 Cagliari
The fact that Cagliari played on Saturday could help them as SPAL have not been in action since the start of March. Both teams will be desperate for three points, but we are struggling to separate them and have therefore backed a low-scoring draw at Stadio Paolo Mazza.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Cagliari win with a probability of 40.22%. A win for SPAL had a probability of 33.86% and a draw had a probability of 25.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Cagliari win was 0-1 with a probability of 9.72%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.64%) and 0-2 (6.82%). The likeliest SPAL win was 1-0 (8.77%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.31%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 9.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 0-1 win for Cagliari in this match.
