Sassuolo will play host to Juventus this Saturday evening, as Serie A returns after its break for the European Championship qualifiers.
The Bianconeri, currently leading the race for the Scudetto, travel to the Mapei Stadium to face Eusebio Di Francesco’s men who prop up the table after an indifferent start to their current campaign.
The last time the two sides met in Reggio Emilia back in April, Carlos Tevez, Claudio Marchisio and Fernando Llorente dispatched Sassuolo, after Simone Zaza had given the home side an early ninth minute lead.
This season the Neroverdi have struggled to put together any consistency, and find themselves still searching for their first win of the campaign. With three draws and three defeats after six games, the coach would have hoped for a slightly less complicated opponent than the current champions of Italy.
The delicate nature of the match has forced Di Francesco into a tactical rethink and the 45-year-old has reportedly experimented with a 3-4-3 formation which he may decide to adopt come Saturday evening.
With Luca Antei, Domenico Berardi, Simone Zaza and Saphir Taider returning from international duty relatively unscathed, concerns now surround the current injury situation to Thomas Manfredini, Antonio Floro Flores and Lorenzo Ariaudo. The three are a doubt to win their race for fitness and may struggle to make the starting line-up.
Ex-Juve defender Federico Peluso will definitely miss out, having picked up a ban for this match.
The Bianconeri have a few issues themselves, the suspension of Alvaro Morata but more worryingly the fact that their other Spanish front man has yet to open his goal scoring account.
Fernando Llorente has failed to net in his six league matches, despite the Bianconeri having won every game thus far in dominant fashion.
Coach Massimiliano Allegri will still keep faith with his centre forward, fully aware that last season the 29-year-old only started finding the net regularly from November onwards.
There is still no sign of defender Andrea Barzagli returning to the Juventus side and Martin Caceres will also be absent after having picked up a knock last time out in their controversial win over Roma.
Angelo Ogbonna will deputise, alongside fellow Italy internationals Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini.
Tickets are already difficult to find as the match is expected to be a sell-out and may break the current attendance record at the Mapei Stadium of 14206.
Expected Starting XIs
Sassuolo (4-3-3): Consigli; Longhi, Antei, Cannavaro, Gazzola; Taider, Manganelli, Biondini; Berardi, Zaza, Sansone.
Juventus (3-5-2): Buffon; Bonucci, Chiellini, Ogbonna; Lichsteiner, Marchisio, Pirlo, Pogba, Asamoah; Tevez, Llorente.
