Sassuolo Vs Napoli
Sunday 22nd December 2019 – 19:45 Kick-Off
Italian Serie A
Pick: Sassuolo or Draw (Double Chance)
Odds: 5/4
Bookmaker: Coral
Serie A Betting at 22Bet
(All betting odds displayed were correct at the time of writing: 20th December 2019 at 18:55)
Preview: The winter break looms large in Italy, with this fixture in Sassuolo the final Serie A encounter of 2019 as crisis club Napoli visit Mapei Stadium seeking to end a barren spell of eight matches without a league win.
Sassuolo Vs Napoli Live Stats & Betting Odds
Sassuolo Preview – Momentum clearly with home side?
Something quite astonishing occurred a week ago. Sassuolo (14th – W4 D4 L7, GF28 GA27) drew a match in Serie A 0-0. It was a first of the season for a team that has plundered more goals than anyone outside of the top-six, netting 28 in all at a rate of nearly two per game (1.75). That draw, away to AC Milan, was a third in succession having previously shared the points with Cagliari and Juventus after a pair of 2-2 draws that certainly made a lot more sense than the goalless affair at the San Siro.
This drawing sequence would end during the week, however, and in good style. A goal in either half enough to condemn Brescia to a 2-0 defeat on their own patch as Roberto De Zerbi’s team recorded only its second win on the road in 2019-20. Although it was an extremely clinical display judging by their xG (BRE 1.26 – 0.58 SAS). Not that they will care much, extending their now unbeaten run to four matches, scoring exactly two goals on three occasions during this spell.
Now, with confidence flowing and the attack still scoring regularly – spearheaded by the striking duo of Francesco Caputo and Mimmo Berardi, who are both on 8 goals for the season, Sassuolo will surely be targeting an upset before the winter break. Based on the respective forms of both teams, it could even be argued that I Neroverdi are the ones in better shape and that a positive result may not even go down as a surprise. Bolstering their appeal further is a four-match unbeaten run when at home to Napoli (W1 D3).
Napoli Preview – Gattuso the short-term solution?
Does anybody really know what to expect from Napoli (8th – W5 D6 L5, GF25 GA21) any longer? Other than them not winning matches in Serie A, which has now been the case for over two months having racked up a sequence of eight games without winning (D5 L3) following the latest debacle at home to Parma. Goals at the very beginning and end of their contest in Naples last week condemning Gennaro Gattuso’s side to a second consecutive 2-1 defeat at the San Paolo.
Grim reading however which way it is spun. Whether it be the no win for eight Serie A fixtures or the one solitary win in eleven in all competitions, with that rare success coming against Belgian side Genk who happened to be the whipping boys of their Champions League group. They will hope to find solace in Sassuolo but there may be none forthcoming, at a venue where their last victory there dates back to 2014 – losing one and drawing three of four encounters since.
Perhaps travelling is what this team needs right now; to escape the doom and gloom that has engulfed Naples. However, no win in the last five away fixtures – earning uninspiring draws with AC Milan, Torino, SPAL and Udinese whilst also losing at AS Roma – certainly provides an impression that a victory this weekend may elude them still. And if to compound their woes further, the sight of defender Kalidou Koulibaly being stretchered off during last week’s Parma humbling could now potentially weaken a backline with one Serie A shut out in seven.
Sassuolo Vs Napoli – Key Facts:
- Sassuolo extended their unbeaten Serie A run to four matches (W1 D3) following Wednesday’s 2-0 victory away to Brescia.
- Napoli are without a win in league action since 19th October, going eight games without registering maximum points (D5 L3).
- The head-to-head favours Napoli, though, who have lost just one of twelve previous Serie A meetings (W6 D5 L1) – though haven’t won in four prior visits to Sassuolo (D3 L1).
Betting Summary
Playing Napoli (4/6 Unibet) right now isn’t the same gig as it once was. Perennial runners-up in recent seasons of Serie A, the Partenopei are an absolute mess on and off the pitch with managerial upheaval, injuries to crucial players and form that makes for horrific reading. Eight games without a league win is an absurd statistic for a club of their stature. Until this carnage subsides, placing faith in Napoli seems fruitless. Meanwhile Sassuolo (21/5 BetVictor) are back to winning ways and unbeaten in the last four (W1 D3) – which includes creditable efforts against AC Milan and Juventus. Moreover, their attack won’t be easy to rein in.
Goals tend to flow whenever Sassuolo are around, which explains the 4/7 (Bet365) about Both Teams to Score. A better price, and dare I say angle, is simply backing the recent form of Napoli to remain true, which would be them failing to win for a ninth consecutive Serie A game, in a fixture they last won back in 2014, winning on none of four subsequent visits to Emilia-Romagna.
