After a frustrating draw with lowly Cagliari in their last match, Napoli will aim to grab the three points this evening when they face relegation-threatened Sassuolo at the Mapei Stadium.
Napoli have failed to secure a win in their previous four matches across all competitions, drawing three and losing to Milan earlier this month. The Partenopei were left baffled in their last game versus Cagliari. They saw Victor Osimhen open the scoring with his first Serie A goal after over a month but were left frustrated with Zito Luvumboโs added-time equaliser. Francesco Calzonaโs debut match ended on a rather positive note, with a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 against an in-form Barcelona. Napoliโs top-four hopes this season have become dim but they are still expected to salvage a Europa League spot at the end of it.ย
Meanwhile, Sassuolo approach this match on the back of a 3-2 defeat against Empoli which saw their winless rut extend to six consecutive league games. Empoliโs Sebastiano Luperto opened the scoring early in the match before Andrea Pinamonti equalised through a spot-kick. Gian Marco Ferrariโs 77th-minute goal cancelled out MโBaye Niangโs 64th-minute penalty goal. Davide Nicolaโs men dealt the final blow when Simone Bastoni netted home the winner in added time to break Neroverdiโs hearts. Currently level on points (20) with 18th-placed Verona and 19th-placed Cagliari, Sassuolo need to start adding points to their tally to avoid an impending drop to the second division next season.
Here are the predicted line-ups for the match according to La Repubblica:
Sassuolo (4-2-3-1): Consigli; Pedersen, Erlic, Ferrari, Doig; Racic, Matheus Henrique; Bajrami, Thorstvedt, Lauriente; Pinamonti.
Napoli (4-3-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Ostigard, Mario Rui; Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Politano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia.
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Trambak Bhattacherjee | GIFN
