Saturday’s first of two evening matches in Serie A will see Sassuolo welcome Fiorentina to the Mapei Stadium.
Both coaches will be hoping that their sides can continue to build on their good campaigns so far with a win, albeit if a win for la Viola would be more valuable in taking them a step closer to the Champions League places than it may be for Sassuolo in mid-table.
Sassuolo’s season has been impressive so far as they continue to consolidate their Serie A status after narrowly avoiding the drop last season. The Neroverdi sit 12th in the table and have already caused several upsets this season, holding Juventus and Roma to draws as well as beating both Milan sides, including a 3–1 win over Roberto Mancini’s Inter two weeks ago in a fiery affair where both sides were reduced to 10.
Those kind of results have led to plenty of speculation about where Eusebio Di Francesco could be heading in the summer, with his beloved Roma and even Fiorentina touted as possible destinations. The 45-year-old will need to avoid such distractions for the moment though.
Vincenzo Montella’s Fiorentina are unbeaten in five and come into this game off the back of a 3–2 thriller against Atalanta where captain Manuel Pasqual was the hero with a last-gasp winner. A victory on Saturday in Reggio Emilia would take them to within four points of Napoli who occupy third spot and the Champions League qualifying place.
The formidable front-three of Simone Zaza, Domenico Berardi and Nicola Sansone will be reunited as they return from the suspensions they picked up in the win over Inter. Di Francesco will be without the services of right-back Sime Vrsaljko for around a month though after he picked up a thigh strain in the 1–1 draw with Sampdoria last Sunday. Aside from Vrsaljko and Emanuele Terranova, who is out for the season, the Neroverdi have a clean bill of health for Saturday.
Giuseppe Rossi remains a long term doubt for Fiorentina with his knee injury, with April the earliest possible return date. Montella will be buoyed however by the return of Gonzalo Rodriguez to full fitness, while Juan Manuel Vargas could also return to the lineup at the Mapei Stadium.
Form Guide: Sassuolo (W-D-D-L-W) Fiorentina (W-W-D-D-W)
Expected Starting XIs
Fiorentina: Tatarusanu, Savic, Gonzalo, Basanta, Joaquin, Fernandez, Aquilani, Borja Valero, Alonso, Diamanti, Gomez.
Sassuolo: Consigli, Gazzola, Cannavaro, Acerbi, Longhi, Biondini, Magnanelli, Taider, Berardi, Sansone, Zaza.
