Cagliari vs Catania preview - Barrientos ready to go

Posted Saturday, November 10, 2012 by PA

Pablo Barrientos is fit and ready to guide Catania to survival in Serie A as the Sicilians cross the sea to face Cagliari.

The Argentinian midfielder notched his second goal of the season as the Elefanti recorded a long overdue 4-0 victory over Lazio last weekend, and having spent much of his Catania career sidelined through injury, Barrientos is keen to make an impact as soon as possible.

Before flying to Sardinia, he told the Corriere dello Sport: "I think I've put the worst of it behind me.

"Physically, I've had a few little problems with my ankle and that's stopped me shooting from outside of the area.

"We have to put the same amount of effort in against the smaller teams as when we play against the big boys.

"Winning in Sardinia would certainly be important because it would bring Catania closer to achieving our goal, which is survival.

"Cagliari have a good team, they're really strong.

"We respect the opposition but we have to go there without fear, because if you play with fear you'll do badly.

"The Sardinians always fight right until the very end and they have four or five players with extremely good technical ability."

Gonzalo Bergessio's participation is doubtful, due to a niggling calf injury, with Souleymane Doukara and Takayuki Morimoto vying to take his place in attack.

Meanwhile, Ivo Pulga's Cagliari are eager to get back to winning ways after seeing their remarkable run of four straight wins come to end at Fiorentina.

Having been the centre of much controversy through the opening weeks of the season, the Rossoblu's new home - Stadio Is Arenas - is expected to be open on all sides for the first time.

The Sardinian club have slashed ticket prices, with access to the `Curva' costing fans as little as one euro, with both club captain Daniele Conti and fellow midfielder Radja Nainggolan returning from suspension just in time to play in front of a packed stadium.

Pulga's new-look 4-3-1-2 formation, spearheaded by Nene and Marco Sau, proved to be effective in a recent 4-2 victory over Siena, but not so much against La Viola.