A rapidly faltering Empoli side travel to the Mapei Stadium to face Sassuolo in Serie A on Sunday.
Concerning form has seen Empoli slide down the table in 2023 and has left them looking over their shoulder.
Match preview
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Sassuolo all but confirmed their top-flight status with a four-game winning run before March's international break.
However, having reached the 40-point mark, the Neroverdi have become complacent with some disappointing results recently.
Despite a 1-0 home victory over a woeful Juventus, Sassuolo have lost back-to-back fixtures on the road against relegation candidates Hellas Verona and Salernitana.
Their thumping 3-0 defeat in Salerno last week marked a difficult day for manager Alessio Dionisi and goalkeeper Andrea Consigli in particular.
These sorts of results are in stark contrast to the form they showed between January and the start of April, which saw them lose only to Napoli over a 10-game period.
Netting a combined nine goals in away trips to AC Milan and Roma as well as defeating other European hopefuls Atalanta had Dioinisi being held in high regard.
There is still time for Sassuolo to finish the season strongly though, and a top-half finish is well within reach, given that they are just four points off eighth going into the weekend.
A continuation of good home form will help with that, as Sassuolo are unbeaten in their last four at the Mapei Stadium, their longest run at home since Roberto De Zerbi was in charge during the 2020-21 season.
For Empoli, ensuring they do not somehow get dragged into the relegation picture is their objective for the rest of the season.
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The form of Verona has left many clubs nervous in the past few weeks, with Empoli being one of them.
Verona in 18th have taken seven points from their last three games, while Empoli have won just four points from a possible 24 in their slide down the table.
The eight games prior to this run saw Empoli in great form though, especially on the road.
A win away to Inter Milan was paired with impressive draws at Lazio and Fiorentina, leading many to regard them as safe.
However, they are now just six points from trouble as Salernitana, Lecce and Spezia have all been dragged into the relegation dogfight too.
Empoli were blown aside 3-0 at the Stadio Carlo Castellani by an Inter side that had not won in six domestic fixtures last week, to heap the pressure on manager Paolo Zanetti.
That marked a third successive Serie A game without a goal, and they have not gone four games without scoring in almost seven years.
Their lack of a goalscorer is noticeable, as 20-year-old midfielder Tommaso Baldanzi remains the side's top scorer with just four goals this season - only bottom-placed Sampdoria have scored fewer.
Team News
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Sassuolo are set to be without talisman Domenico Berardi again with a muscular injury.
Mert Muldur has missed much of the season, and the Turkish full-back remains on the sidelines.
Despite a poor performance last weekend, goalkeeper Consigli is set to make his 470th Serie A appearance here, equalling the tally of the legendary Franco Baresi.
Empoli's goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is set to miss out though having not featured since February, with Samuele Perisan expected to deputise again.
There are concerns over the fitness of Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro and Sebastian Walukiewicz, with the duo doubtful ahead of this clash.
Defender Koni De Winter will be ruled out after the injury he picked up against Cremonese two weeks ago.
Sassuolo possible starting lineup:
Consigli; Toljan, Ferrari, Tressoldi, Rogerio; Frattesi, Lopez, Matheus Henrique; Bajrami, Defrel, Lauriente
Empoli possible starting lineup:
Persian; Ebuehi, Ismajli, Luperto, Parisi; Haas, Marin, Bandinelli, Baldanzi; Caputo, Cambiaghi
We say: Sassuolo 0-0 Empoli
Sassuolo's form has tailed off since their survival was all but confirmed, and missing Berardi will certainly affect them in attack.
Empoli have been in extremely worrying form, with a toothless attack dragging them towards danger, but they may be able to take something from a Sassuolo side who have little left to play for.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
