Napoli will visit Sassuolo in the Serie A on Wednesday. The visitors are eager to turn things around to guarantee European football for the upcoming season. The hosts are hoping to increase their chances of surviving.
Preview (Sassuolo vs. Napoli)
Sassuolo’s unwelcome Serie A winless streak reached six games last weekend as they lost 3-2 at home to Empoli, their 15th league loss of the year. Gian Marco Ferrari’s first goal of the season 13 minutes from time put the Neroverdi back on track to secure a crucial point, but they were ultimately unable to hold on as Empoli won thanks to a header from Simone Bastoni in the 94th minute. After leading the team for 2.5 years, Sassuolo fired manager Alessio Dionisi on Sunday. That outcome proved to be the last straw. Bigica will look to make an early impression on the training pitch in front of exciting matches against a struggling Napoli team and fellow relegation-threatened teams Verona and Frosinone.
Though Sassuolo has only won two of their previous 21 Serie A meetings with Napoli and has failed to score in three of those meetings, success on Wednesday could prove difficult. Additionally, Sassuolo’s home form is also lacking, having only once secured maximum points in nine league games at the Mapei Stadium. Napoli has not won any of their last four games in all competitions since rallying from a goal down to defeat Verona 2-1 in their first game of February. Instead, they have drawn their last three games by a score of 1-1 against Genoa, Barcelona, and Cagliari.
While Napoli salvaged a draw against Barcelona in their Champions League last-16 first-leg match. They suffered a humiliating two-point loss to Cagliari in their Serie A matchup last weekend.
Team News
Mario Berardi, Sassuolo’s main attacker, is currently out as he recovers from a knee injury. Mattia Viti (unspecified) and Martin Erlic (muscle) will also be evaluated before kickoff. After recovering from a hamstring injury to make the bench for the last game, Jeremy Toljan will be vying to replace Marcus Holmgren Pedersen at right-back on Wednesday. Samu Castillejo and Cristian Volpato will continue to compete for a starting position on the right flank. Andrea Pinamonti, the league’s top scorer with nine goals so far this season, leading the attack.
Regarding Napoli, Ciril Ngonge is not expected to play on Wednesday. He missed the previous two matches due to a muscle complaint. Giovanni Di Lorenzo, on the other hand, is cleared to play again following a one-match suspension. He is anticipated to replace Pasquale Mazzocchi at right-back. He will join Mathias Olivera, Amir Rahmani, and Juan Jesus in the back four. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will likely remain on the left. Osimhen, has scored in his last two games since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations. He will likely lead the line in the middle of the front three.
Sassuolo 1-2 Napoli
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