With the Serie A holiday break drawing to a close, Frosinone will be looking to begin 2016 by putting an end to their poor run of form when they visit Sassuolo on Wednesday afternoon at the Mapei Stadium.
Sassuolo currently sit in seventh place in the Serie A table while the Canarini occupy the 18th spot. A substantial 13 points separate the two sides.
Eusebio Di Francesco’s men come in to this match on the heels of a 1-1 away draw with Hellas Verona, losing only once in their past seven fixtures, Sassuolo currently find themselves fighting for Europa League qualification.
Points have been more difficult to come by for Roberto Stellone’s side with a mere four out of a possible twenty-one since the beginning of November. A stirring 4-2 defeat at home to AC Milan ensured that the club would be spending their holidays in the relegation zone.
These two teams have never squared off in Serie A but have fiery recent history in Serie B, combining for three dismissals over their past four encounters. Given that both teams have a knack for seeing their opposition get sent off this season – a combined eleven – this fixture’s tradition of poor discipline may now be poised to carry itself into the top flight.
The Neroverdi will be without the services of midfielder Simone Missiroli due to an accumulation of yellow cards. They will however, have Domenico Berardi back after serving his three game suspension while the Gialloazzurri have winger Danilo Soddimo suspended for the tie.
Sassuolo will be missing just one player through injury, in the form of Emanuele Terranova. Frosinone’s treatment table is not much busier with only Aleandro Rosi and Massimiliano Carlini set to miss out.
Meanwhile, veteran striker Sergio Floccari has been been left off Di Francesco’s team sheet and is expected to be sold in the coming days. Floccari is currently Sassuolo’s top goal scorer with four goals to his name, one fewer than Frosinone’s Federico Dionisi at five.
Form Guide: Sassuolo (W-L-D-W-D) Frosinone (L-W-L-L-L)
Expected Starting XIs:
Sassuolo: Consigli; Vrsaljko, Cannavaro, Acerbi, Peluso; Pellegrini, Magnanelli, Laribi; Berardi, Defrel, Sansone.
Frosinone: Leali; Ciofani, Diakite, Blanchard, Pavlovic; Paganini, Gori, Sammarco, Tonev; Ciofani, Dionisi.
