Sassuolo will look to achieve their first win of the Serie A campaign when they host Sampdoria at the Mapei Stadium on Sunday.
Last season’s results saw both sides lose at home to each other in very tight score-lines. The first meeting at the Stadio Ferraris saw Sassuolo take a 4-3 victory thanks to a hat-trick from Domenico Berardi and lone strike from Antonio Floro Flores. Sampdoria took revenge at the Mapei Stadium thanks to goals from Sansone, before Longi’s equalizer was cancelled by Okaka’s eventual game winner.
Eusebio Di Francesco’s men are desperate for an elusive three points, after a staggering defeat away to Inter in round two where the Nerazzuri fired in seven unanswered goals.
The defeat was a heavy case of deja vu, as the first meeting between the sides held the exact same scoreline in the 2013-2014 campaign. Sampdoria, on the other hand, started positively with a point earned at away to Palermo before a win at home to Torino, as the Blucerchiati now sit fifth in the Serie A standings.
Simone Zaza looked promising in the early stages of the season, scoring against Cagliari in the opening round of the season and followed his call-up to Italy with a goal against Norway. However, the striker was silent in his performance against Inter and subbed off in the 65th minute. Sassuolo will be without their prolific winger Domenico Berardi, who was sent off for a blatant elbow on Inter’s Juan Jesus.
Despite rare chances created against Torino last weekend, Sampdoria were able to capitalize on a free-kick thanks to Manolo Gabbiadini’s low strike. Stefano Okaka sealed the result for his side with a brilliant solo effort in the dying stages.
Okaka shared his feelings of optimism to Sky Sport Italia following the positive display with Sampdoria after years of struggle in Serie A.
“I’m back on the right path that I left three or four years ago, so I am happy about this, and I thank Sampdoria coach [Sinisa] Mihajlovic for giving me this opportunity.”
Di Francesco on the other hand told Sky Sport Italia that last week’s tumultuous result was merely a bad performance, “I’m asking myself how it happened, but it has happened and we must be realistic. I struggle to find excuses, there is great regret because I was not expecting a performance like that.”
Expected Starting XIs
Sassuolo – Consigli; Ariaudo, Antei, Gazzola, Terranova; Magnanelli, Biondini, Peluso, Vrsaljko; Floro Flores, Zaza, Sansone
Sampdoria – Viviano; Gastaldello, Silvestre, De Silvestri, Cacciatore; Palombo, Soriano, Obiang; Okaka, Gabbiadini, Eder
