Sassuolo welcome Benevento to the Mapei Stadium on Friday evening with the opportunity to move back into second place in the Serie A standings.
Having put together a three-match undefeated streak, Benevento head into this fixture sitting five points clear of the relegation zone.
Match preview
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Having previously enjoyed a storming start to the campaign, claiming just one point from a possible six has the potential to derail Sassuolo's ambitions to become a mainstay in the top six.
However, bouncing back from a 3-0 defeat at home to Inter Milan with a goalless draw at Roma will be regarded as a positive by Roberto De Zerbi, who continues to work wonders at the Mapei Stadium.
Sassuolo have a tough-looking schedule at the turn of the year with AC Milan, Atalanta BC and Juventus all to come in the space of five games, but the greater pressure will be on their opponents if they can take advantage of their upcoming meetings with Benevento and Sampdoria.
Despite going two games without success, I Neroverdi remain in fifth position, and Friday's fixture provides them with a chance to move closer to leaders AC Milan.
While just two goals have been netted in four outings, De Zerbi's side remain with the fourth-best attacking record in Italy's top flight.
Competing in just their second ever Serie A campaign, everyone associated with Benevento will be delighted with occupying 13th spot in the table.
Four consecutive defeats had led to the newcomers dropping down the standings, but Filippo Inzaghi's side have been excellent since the November international break.
A narrow win at Fiorentina has been followed by draws against Juventus and Parma, leaving Gli Stregoni just three points adrift of ninth-placed Atalanta.
Although Inzaghi will be far more interested in maintaining a cushion above the relegation zone, victory on Friday would give Benevento plenty of reasons to aim higher over the coming months.
Sassuolo Serie A form: DWDWLD
Benevento Serie A form: LLLWDD
Benevento form (all competitions): LLLWDD
Team News
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Inzaghi will be able to call upon Pasquale Schiattarella with the veteran defender having served his one-match ban.
However, Inzaghi may decide to go with the team which claimed a goalless draw at Parma last weekend.
De Zerbi could opt to hand a recall to Giacomo Raspadori, potentially at the expense of Maxime Lopez.
Barring any late fitness issues, the remainder of the starting XI could remain the same with Jeremie Boga keeping out Hamed Junior Traore.
Sassuolo possible starting lineup:
Pegolo; Ayhan, Santos, Ferrari, Rogerio; Obiang, Locatelli; Berardi, Djuricic, Boga; Raspadori
Benevento possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Letizia, Tuia, Glik, Barba; Hetemaj, Ionita, Improta; Insigne, Lapadula, Caprari
We say: Sassuolo 2-1 Benevento
Despite the difference in league placings, this fixture should be far closer than many people are anticipating. Nevertheless, Sassuolo will be motivated to get back on track, and the home side could edge out their in-form opponents by a narrow margin.
Top betting tip
Darren Plant
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Sassuolo win with a probability of 43.87%. A win for Benevento had a probability of 32.53% and a draw had a probability of 23.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sassuolo win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.03%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (7.52%) and 2-0 (6.34%). The likeliest Benevento win was 1-2 (7.62%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.7%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 7.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Sassuolo would win this match.
