Aiming to continue their winning streak at Cagliari's Unipol Domus, Bologna seek only their second Serie A victory in gameweek eight following a below-par start to the 2026-27 season.

The Emilians were powerless to resist Inter Milan at San Siro last week, halting their mini-revival, but they will hope that their previous results in Sardinia count for something ahead of Saturday's visit.

Match preview

Bologna's start to life under Raffaele Palladino has not gone swimmingly, with results providing the clearest indication of the Rossoblu's indifferent early-season form.

Having failed to score in three of their opening four Serie A matches, the tide appeared to be turning after a 1-1 draw with Torino and a 2-1 success away at Lecce, only for them to suffer a 3-1 defeat to Inter last week.

While the result extended the Emilia-Romagna outfit's wait for a first home win in the top flight this term, losing to the defending champions was not disappointing in isolation, even if the defeat continued a worrying trend for Palladino's men.

The 15th-placed Rossoblu have held leads against Torino, Lecce and Inter; they were pegged back to draw 1-1 with the Turin outfit and found a way past the Lupi, but Inter's firepower overwhelmed Bologna even without the talismanic Lautaro Martinez.

The new boss now heads to Sardinia hoping for a return to winning ways and a continuation of the revival that his side appeared ready to embark on before facing the joint leaders.

The home supporters could be forgiven for not looking forward to Saturday's visit, given the recent disappointment suffered at the hands of Bologna.

After enjoying an admirable seven-match unbeaten home league record against the Emilians, which included five victories, Cagliari have now failed to score in consecutive home encounters with the Emilia-Romagna club.

On the one hand, recent history is against the hosts, but their respectable record in front of their supporters should strengthen any flickering optimism.

Cagliari have lost only one of their three league matches in Sardinia this term, falling 1-0 to Inter at the end of August, but have since responded by collecting four points from an available six to climb to seventh in the Serie A table.

Having been brought back down to earth by last weekend's 4-0 beatdown at Monza, Fabio Pisacane's men will welcome a return to the Unipol Domus, where they hope to avoid a third consecutive defeat against this weekend's visitors.

Cagliari Serie A form:

Bologna Serie A form:

Team News

Daniel Maldini has already surpassed last season's two-goal return by scoring twice apiece at home and away, and the forward aims to improve his impressive tally for a club with only three different goalscorers this season.

Only three players, Antonio Raimondo with seven, Gustavo Varela and Donyell Malen, have outscored Maldini, further highlighting his blistering start.

Yael Trepy is touch-and-go for Bologna's visit, while Riyad Idrissi and Mattia Felici are unavailable due to long-term ACL injuries.

The visiting side will navigate this weekend without Roberto Piccoli (muscle), Riccardo Orsolini (muscle) and Emil Holm (hamstring).

Bologna have had six different goalscorers this term, including Federico Bernardeschi, Orsolini, Tommaso Pobega, Artem Dovbyk and Jay Enem.

Cagliari possible starting lineup:

Caprile; Ze Pedro, Mina, Rodriguez, Obert; Adopo, Winks, Romano; Fadera, Maldini; Mendy

Bologna possible starting lineup:

Skorupski; Darmian, Casale, Theate; Zortea, Ferguson, Pobega, Miranda; Bernardeschi, Cambiaghi; Enem

We say: Cagliari 2-1 Bologna

Cagliari's 4-0 loss at Monza was a sobering setback, but their encouraging home form and Maldini's blistering start offer genuine reasons for optimism.

Bologna's habit of surrendering promising positions may resurface in Sardinia, where the hosts can end their two-match losing sequence in this fixture.

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