Sassuolo vs Roma
Italian Serie A.
Date: Wednesday, 26 October 2016
Kick-Off: 19:45 UK,
Venue: Stadio Città del Tricolore (Reggio Emilia).
Sassuolo were held in Bologna (1-1) at the weekend on the back of a decent away draw in Vienna in last week's Europa League. The games come quick and fast and another against Roma on Wednesday night looks a really tough one on paper for I Neroverdi.
Sassuolo are unbeaten in 3 in all competitions but have won just 1 of their last 5 overall. 6/7 have seen both sides scoring and in the last 3 Serie A games.
At home after a shock 0-3 loss to Pescara, Sassuolo have won their next 3 league games. 2 have come to nil, netting 2 or more in 2/3, however the average league position of those 3 sides is 16th position.
Roma
Roma thumped Palermo (4-1) at the weekend to remain in 2nd place and they trail Juventus by just 2 points. The win is their 4th in the last 5 with the only blip a 3-3 draw in the Europa League with Austria Vienna.
Roma have scored in their last 7 overall, netting 2 or more in 6/7 and 3 or more in 5/7. Defensively, both sides have scored in 5/6 with Astana the only side not to net against them in this period.
Away from home in Serie A, Roma have won 1/3 but they often need 2 goals to take something from their away games. When scoring 2 goals or more their record is 1-1-0, when scoring 1 or less it's 0-0-2.
Sassuolo snapped an alternate win and loss finish in their previous five games as they were held to a 1-1 draw by lowly club Bologna on the road at the Renato Dall'Ara Stadium last Sunday, as per ESPN.
Bologna forward Simone Verdi opened the scoring early in the 10th minute with a right-footer following a free kick.
The one-point lead held on until very late in the match when Italian striker Alessandro Matri scored off a rebound play after teammate Paolo Cannavaro's header was saved by Bologna goalkeeper Angelo da Costa, salvaging the tie and a share of a point in the overall standings.
With the draw, I Neroverdi remained in the ninth spot of the league table, seven points above the bottom three relegation area and only two points below the final Europa League qualifying berth for next season.
Meanwhile, Roma extended their winning streak to three games after crushing bottom three team Palermo, 4-1, at the Stadio Olimpico last Sunday, Football Italia reported.
I Giallorossi scored the only goal in the first half with a 31st-minute strike from Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah as head coach Luciano Spalletti's side went up 1-0 at the break.
Roma made it a 3-0 count in the second half with goals from midfielder Leandro Paredes and striker Edin Dzeko in the 51st and 68th minutes.
Palermo was able to cut the lead to two points with a right-footer from Swede midfielder Robin Quaison, but the hosts re-established the three-goal lead as Italian winger Stephan El Shaarawy scored the game's final goal off an assist by Salah with a through ball to the center of the penalty area.
Sassuolo vs Roma: Head-to-head statistics
Roma have lost just two out of their last 26 Serie A games.
The Giallorossi have netted at least two goals in 10 out of their past 12 matches.
Sassuolo have won their last six home games.
The Neroverdi have never beaten Roma (three draws, three losses).
Roma have seen over 2.5 goals in all but one out of their last 12 games.
The Lupi have scored at least two goals against Sassuolo in their last five meetings.
Roma have won all three meetings away against the Neroverdi, whilst shutting them out in every game.
Sassuolo vs Roma: Prediction
Having drawn with Bologna, the hosts will be eager to frustrate a high-flying Roma side who simply can’t stop scoring at the moment. Despite their defensive woes, Sassuolo nonetheless have no problems scoring themselves, and in fact, have yet to have a match where they have not found the back of the net. Yes, there was that 3-0 “loss” to Pescara, but that match actually finished as a 2-1 result.
An open match is expected here, with a fairly decent amount of goals. Roma, however, should be able to do enough to come out on top. The Giallorossi not only have never lost to Sassuolo (once of the few “bigger” teams in Serie A who haven’t), but also have won all three of their past trips to the Neroverdi home ground.
Furthermore, Sassuolo have never scored against Roma when the Lupi come to town. That surely will likely end this Wednesday, however as Spalletti’s men have conceded in all their away games this season.
Sassuolo vs Roma: Betting Tips
Both teams to score – YES at 8/13 (1.62)
Over 2.5 goals at 7/10 (1.70)
Roma to win at 17/20 (1.85).
