Football Previews
New Cagliari coach Gianluca Festa has set his sights on masterminding a great escape for the Sardinian club over the last seven games of the season, starting with Sunday’s match at Fiorentina. The former Middlesbrough and Cagliari player this past week replaced Zenek Zeman, who resigned, and his Serie A coaching debut will be at Fiorentina. Cagliari are 19th in the standings, nine points adrift of safety. “There’s no room for concern, just the will to do well,” Festa told the Italian press. “I have found a team that believes it’s still possible and that has so much hunger inside. “The players are calm. I’ve told my players that in our next seven games we have to give our all.” Festa, who was assistant to Giorgio Melis at Cagliari for a brief spell in 2010, has a tough task. Cagliari are without a win since January 24 and Sunday’s 3-0 home defeat to Napoli was the Sardinian’s seventh loss in their last eight league games. Moreover, the Islanders have the worst defensive line in the competition with 61 goals conceded. “I want to bring enthusiasm and simplicity to the team,” the 46-year-old said. “We have to play without fear and showing that we have confidence in ourselves. “The only thing that interests me are the results and how the team plays.” Fiorentina halted a three-match winless run with a 2-0 triumph over Dynamo Kiev on Thursday. The outcome in Florence allowed the Viola to progress to the semi-finals of the Europa League where they will take on cup holders Sevilla next month. “They are favourites but we will do everything we can to reach the final,” Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella said. In the meantime, Fiorentina will be looking to return to winning ways in Serie A. Defeats to Napoli and Hellas Verona in the last two rounds have dropped the Viola to sixth in the standings, nine points adrift of Roma, who hold the last Champions League qualifying spot. Fiorentina are without Senegal striker Khouma Babacar, who is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury sustained in Monday’s 1-0 defeat to Hellas Verona. Cagliari welcome back midfielder Lorenzo Crisetig from suspension but are without the services of defender Luca Rossettini and striker Samuele Longo, with both serving a one-match ban.
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Team
MP
W
D
L
F
A
G
P
1
SSC Napoli
12
8
2
2
19
9
+10
26
2
Atalanta
12
8
1
3
31
15
+16
25
3
Fiorentina
12
7
4
1
25
10
+15
25
4
Inter Milan
12
7
4
1
26
14
+12
25
5
Lazio
12
8
1
3
25
14
+11
25
6
Juventus
12
6
6
0
21
7
+14
24
7
AC Milan
11
5
3
3
20
14
+6
18
8
Bologna
11
4
6
1
15
13
+2
18
9
Udinese
12
5
1
6
15
18
-3
16
10
Empoli
12
3
6
3
9
10
-1
15
11
Torino
12
4
2
6
15
18
-3
14
12
Roma
12
3
4
5
14
17
-3
13
13
Parma
12
2
6
4
16
18
-2
12
14
Verona
12
4
0
8
17
27
-10
12
15
Como
12
2
4
6
13
23
-10
10
16
Cagliari
12
2
4
6
12
22
-10
10
17
Genoa
12
2
4
6
9
22
-13
10
18
Lecce
12
2
3
7
5
21
-16
9
19
Monza
12
1
5
6
10
15
-5
8
20
Venezia
12
2
2
8
11
21
-10
8
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