Marco Palestra will be on the bench against the team that owns his contract. Surprisingly, the number 2 will not start at 6:30 PM in Cagliari-Atalanta, the late game of the penultimate matchday of Serie A. Since his arrival at the Rossoblu in late August, he was only left out of the starting eleven on the third matchday against Parma, on September 13th. But that's not Fabio Pisacane's only (big) surprise, as he launches Paul Mendy up front: already seen as a substitute in recent matchdays, he's now starting for the first time as a professional. The coach has chosen him over Semih Kılıçsoy ( who was encouraged in yesterday's pre-match press conference ) and Gennaro Borrelli, to complete the attacking trident with Sebastiano Esposito and Michael Folorunsho.
Cagliari's formation against Atalanta is expected to be a 4-3-2-1 . In defense, Juan Rodríguez, who now appears to be ahead of Alberto Dossena in the pecking order, will be Yerry Mina, while Adam Obert will start at left back. Former player Michel Adopo will be in midfield, with Gianluca Gaetano (who scored in the first leg) as a playmaker and Alessandro Deiola completing the lineup. Mattia Felici and Riyad Idrissi, as well as Luca Mazzitelli and Leonardo Pavoletti, are also not called up.
Here are the official lineups for Cagliari vs. Atalanta: the match kicks off at 6:30 PM, with Juan Luca Sacchi of the Macerata refereeing the match. You can follow the match live with text coverage on unionesarda.it, and pre- and post-match coverage on Radiolina, with live commentary by Lele Casini from Unipol Domus.
Cagliari (4-3-2-1): Caprile; Zé Pedro, Mina, Juan Rodríguez, Obert; Adopo, Gaetano, Deiola; S. Esposito, Folorunsho; Mendy.
On the bench: Sherri, Ciocci, Palestra, Kılıçsoy, Raterink, Belotti, Albarracín, Dossena, I. Sulemana, Liteta, Zappa, Borrelli, Trepy.
Coach: Fabio Pisacane.
Atalanta (3-4-2-1): Carnesecchi; Scalvini, Djimsiti, Kolašinac; Bellanova, de Roon, Pašalić, Zappacosta; De Ketelaere, Raspadori; Scamacca.
On the bench: Pardel, Sportiello, Kossounou, Hien, Bakker, Musah, K. Sulemana, Samardžić, Éderson, Obrić, Zalewski, Ahanor, Krstović.
Coach: Raffaele Palladino.