League leaders Napoli will travel to Sassuolo in search of their 20th win in the 2022-23 Serie A season.
Napoli are on a six-match winning streak in the league and will look to make it seven in a row when they square up against Sassuolo on Friday. Meanwhile, the home team will look to extend their unbeaten run in the league to five matches.
Sassuolo have been in decent form of late. Their recent form has seen them rise way above the relegation zone. They are seven points clear of the drop zone and will look to move further up in the points table when they go up against the league leaders.
However, it is not going to be an easy match by any means. A few weeks back they were in a spot of bother having lost eight league matches out of ten. But, the home team have managed to recover of late.
I Neroverdi gained promotion to Serie A for the first time in their history in 2013. And, since then they have been punching way above their weight. Apart from finishing 17th in their maiden campaign in Italy’s top flight, they have not come close to relegation. This time around as well they have managed to pick themselves up at the right time.
Alessio Dionisi’s men are heading into this encounter on the back of a 2-2 draw against 8th-placed Udinese Calcio. It was a decent outing for the team but they will hope to do better in the final third when they square up against Napoli.
Given the form of the visiting team, avoiding defeat will be a job well done for Dionisi. But, his team have been doing wonders of late and he will expect to challenge the league leaders.
As far as Napoli are concerned, they will look to extend their lead at the top to 18 points. The Naples-based club have 59 points out of a possible 66. It has been a sensational campaign for Luciano Spalletti’s men.
They have been clinical in the league with 19 wins out of their 22 matches. Napoli will travel to Sassuolo with a 15-point lead over second-placed Inter Milan. Their first loss in the league came against the Milan-based club after the World Cup. But, that didn’t really affect them as such. They have bounced back in fine fashion and are on a six-match winning run in the Serie A.
The Naples-based club have won the league twice in their history. Both their triumphs came during their golden era when the great Diego Maradona was a part of their squad. It has been 34 years since they last lifted the silverware but they are well on course to lift their third league title this season.
Spalletti’s men are heading into this encounter on the back of a comfortable 3-0 win over U.S. Cremonese at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. They are on a great run of form and will be eager to take one step closer to the Serie A title.
Both teams are heading into this encounter hoping for a win. Both of them are in form and will look to continue the good work when they square up at the Mapei Stadium. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at this fixture between the two teams and analyses the tactics that they can deploy.
Team News and Tactics
Sassuolo
Alessio Dionis will be without the services of Jeremy Toljan, who has been sidelined with a hamstring injury. Apart from Toljan’s injury, there is nothing to worry about for the Sassuolo boss. He has the entire squad at his disposal for this fixture.
Brian #Oddei ceduto all'NK Rudes ✍️
Il comunicato è online su https://t.co/BbWqJuBa4a 🔗#ForzaSasol 🖤💚 pic.twitter.com/zThA60ECM3— U.S. Sassuolo (@SassuoloUS) February 15, 2023
Given the fact that they will be squaring up against the best team in Serie A, expect him to go with his best XI without any major change.
Nadir Zortea will continue at right-back in the absence of Toljan. Domenico Berardi who is likely to start on the wing will hope to return to the scoresheet after failing to score in the last two fixtures.
Dionis will once again go ahead with the (4-3-3) formation. Andrea Consigli will be in goal and in front of him will be a back four of Nadir Zortea, Martin Erlic, Ruan Tressoldi, and Riccardo Marchizza.
Pedro Obiang will sit in front of the back four as the holding midfielder while Davide Frattesi and Matheus Henrique will play as the two central midfielders. Berardi will start on the right and look to cut inside. Armand Lauriente will start on the left and Gregoire Defrel will be the number nine.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Consigli; Zortea, Erlic, Tressoldi, Marchizza; Frattesi, Obiang, Henrique; Berardi, Defrel, Lauriente
Napoli
Luciano Spalletti has nothing much to worry about apart from Giacomo Raspadori’s injury. He has a strain in his left thigh and is expected to out of this fixture. Apart from Raspadori, Spalletti is expected to have the full squad at his disposal for this away fixture against Sassuolo.
🏥 Raspadori suffers thigh strainhttps://t.co/goHpuPFnPT
— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli) February 16, 2023
But, they could shuffle the pack given their Champions League round of 16 fixture against Frankfurt on Tuesday. The former Roma manager could rest Piotr Zielinski and give Tanguy Ndombele a nod.
The Italian manager is also expected to stick with his tried and tested (4-3-3) formation. Alex Meret will take charge in goal. Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Mathias Olivera will be the full-backs while Amir Rrahmani and Min-Jae Kim will pair up in the heart of the defense.
Ndombele is expected to start ahead of Zielinski and as a result, he will team up with Andre Franck Anguissa and Stanislav Lobotka to form the midfield three. Hirving Rodrigo Lozano and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will feature out wide on the flanks. And, leading the line will be the Serie A top scorer Victor Osimhen.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Kim, Oliveira; Anguissa, Lobotka, Ndombele; Lozano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia
Key Stats
- Napoli have a great record in front of goal in the ongoing campaign. They have racked up the most goals having found the back of the net on 54 occasions.
- When Sassuolo square up against Napoli, the most common result has been a 2-0 win for the Naples-based club. A total of 5 matches have ended with this result.
- In the last 9 meetings between Sassuolo and Napoli at the Mapei Stadium, the home team have won one game whereas the away team have picked three wins and there have been 5 draws.
- In the last 20 meetings between the two clubs, Sassuolo have won 2 times while Napoli have won 11 times. 7 matches have ended in a draw.
- Sassuolo’s last home win against Napoli was back in 2015.
Player to watch out for
Victor Osimhen
Victor Osimhen has been in the form of his life. The Nigerian forward has been scoring goals for fun in the ongoing season. He has found the back of the net on 17 occasions and is leading the race for the Serie A golden boot. The 24-year-old is 5 goals ahead of Ademola Lookman who has 12 goals to his name. Osimhen is expected to start against Sassuolo and with the form that he is in expect him to be the deciding factor in this fixture.
Prediction
Sassuolo 1-3 Napoli
Both teams are heading into this encounter with a good track record of late. While Sassuolo have won twice in their last four matches, the Naples-based club are on a winning streak. Alessio Dionis will try his best to get a result against the best team in the league. But, the form that Napoli are in suggests that they won’t stand a chance despite their decent track record in the last four matches. The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-1 win for the league leaders.
