2023 Serie B Playoff Final: Cagliari vs Bari Leg 1 Odds

Serie A Berth on The Line

Cagliari Host First Leg of Serie B Playoff Final

Frosinone and Genoa have already booked their places in Serie A next season by finishing first and second in Serie B, respectively. Now, Cagliari and Bari will battle it out for the last 2023-24 Serie A berth. The Serie B sides will meet in a two-legged playoff this week with the first leg on Thursday at Cagliari. Three days later, they’ll meet again in Bari for the second leg. Notably, there is no extra time should the aggregate score finish level. Because third-placed Bari finished ahead of fifth-placed Cagliari in the regular season, Bari will advance to Serie A in the event of an aggregate draw. We’ll now take a closer look at the 2023 Serie B Playoff Final and odds.

Serie B Promotion Playoff Final Leg 1

Cagliari vs Bari

Date, time:
Location: Sardegna Arena, Cagliari, Italy

Head-to-Head

Bari and Cagliari met twice in Serie B this season. The Galletti went unbeaten as they drew 1-1 at home vs. Cagliari and picked up a 1-0 win on the road.

Gianluca Lapadula scored the opening goal for Cagliari in the most recent meeting, in February. He was later sent off and Cagliari equalized on a stoppage time penalty. These teams were also regulars in Serie A at one point and Serie A scores show that Cagliari went unbeaten in the last four top flight matches between these sides.

Cagliari Close to Ending Short Stay in Serie B

  • Semifinal Result: 3-2 agg. W vs. Parma
  • Key Absences: None Reported

Sardinian club Cagliari have spent 17 of the last 19 seasons in the Italian top flight. They most recently played in Serie A from 2016-22 but couldn’t avoid relegation last season. After finishing fifth in Serie B this season, they advanced to the preliminary round of the playoff.

Cagliari defeated Venezia 2-1 to advance to the semifinal vs. Parma. In the first leg, Cagliari fell behind 2-0 but pulled off an incredible comeback to win 3-2. In the second leg in Sardinia, Cagliari held Parma to a scoreless draw and advanced to the 2023 Serie B Playoff Final with a 3-2 aggregate win.

Gianluca Lapadula scored twice in the win over Venezia and also scored the winning penalty vs. Parma. Lapadula was Serie B’s top scorer this season, with 21 regular season goals.

Cagliari rely heavily on him for scoring, as no other player has scored more than six goals, in all competitions. The Peruvian international will be key in the playoff final and expect him to be the focus of Bari’s gameplan.

Cagliari have been on a roll lately, with six wins in their last seven games. During the regular season, they were tied for the third-best defensive record in Serie B.

They conceded just 34 goals in 38 matches. The Isolani have also been solid at home this season, with just two losses. Their record at the Sardegna Arena in 2022-23 is now 13-6-2, with a +13 goal difference.

Bari Advance on Tiebreaker

  • Semifinal Result: 1-1 agg. D vs. Sudtirol (Advanced on Tiebreaker)
  • Key Absences: D Raffaele Pucino (Questionable)

Bari finished in third place in Serie B in the 2022-23 season. They are the top-seeded team in the promotion playoff and that certainly came in handy last Friday.

Bari trailed Sudtirol 1-0 heading into the second leg of their Promotion Playoff Semifinal meeting. In front of their home fans, Bari picked up a 1-0 victory as Leonardo Benedetti scored the game’s only goal.

So, the aggregate score was level at one following the match. Notably, Serie B promotion playoff matches do not go into extra time or penalties and teams do not advance based on away goals. Instead, Bari advanced over Sudtirol because the Galletti finished ahead of Sudtirol in the regular season standings.

Now, the members of Bari will be Serie A players next season if they pick up an aggregate win. The tiebreaker rules are the same for the finals, so an aggregate draw will be a win for Bari.

This season, Bari’s key man has been Morocco international Walid Cheddira. Cheddira, who made a few substitute appearances in Morocco’s run to the World Cup semifinal, scored 17 goals in Serie B this season. Only Gianluca Lapadula and Joel Pohjanpalo scored more goals than Lapadula.

Cheddira was also Coppa Italia’s top scorer, even though the Galletti only played three matches.

Cheddira scored a hat trick in the 4-1 win over Hellas Verona in the first round and also scored twice in the preliminary round. Both Michael Folorunsho and Mirco Antenucci have added nine goals each, in all competitions.

Bari keeper Elia Caprile has also been one of the best goalies in the league this season. His 78.1 percent save percentage ranks second in Serie B and he averages under a goal per game against. Note that Bari last participated in Serie A in the 2010-11 season and earned promotion from Serie C just last season.

Match Analysis and Odds

Currently, the Serie B Playoff Final odds price Cagliari as -130 ATS and moneyline favorites. They’ve won four straight home matches and haven’t lost at the Sardegna Arena since October. Notably, they did concede in all of those four matches on their streak.

Those matches have averaged 3.5 goals per game but under 2.5 goals come in at -150 odds here. Bari have conceded in six of their last eight matches as well.

Bari sit at +350 odds to win the match and were one of just two teams to win at the Sardegna Arena this season. Even a draw would be an excellent result for the Galletti and one displays +240 odds.

Bettors who believe Bari will come away from Cagliari unscathed can take Bari 0.5 at even odds. Note that Bari are winless in their last three road games, though.

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