Sassuolo v SPAL - Italy Serie A

Round four of Italian top-flight will serve us with an exciting fixture between Sassuolo and SPAL, who will clash this Sunday, September 22, at Città del Tricolore, the home of Sassuolo.

Sassuolo relies on home form

Sassuolo looked very strong last season, where they had a solid shot at finishing in the top half, but unfortunately had to settle with a mid-table finish due to some poor results in the last four fixtures of the season (0-2-2). While an impressive effort throughout, Sassuolo finished barely five points above the relegation zone, which is something Roberto De Zerbi's men will want to avoid this term.

Another thing that we noticed from Sassuolo's performance last term is that they heavily rely on home form to carry them through the season. Out of 19 home games, Sassuolo earned 25 points (5-10-4), which in comparison to their 18 points on the road (4-6-9) is a noticeable improvement.

Sassuolo entered this season without two key players Merih Demiral and Stefano Sensi, who left the team during summer. On the other side, Sassuolo brought in some new faces, most notable of which are Ciccio Caputo, Pedro Obiang, Jeremy Tolja and Hamed Junior Traore. With a new roster and high hopes, Sassuolo ventured off into 2019/20 season and while they did not perform as well as they had hoped (1-0-2), there are some positives to take from it. The squad overall looks much more physical and imposing compared to last season, and we can also add that their midfield and attack look much stronger. They might need some more time to get into their rhythm, however, there is surely some potential as far as their firepower is concerned.

SPAL with a tough visit ahead of them

SPAL enter their round four fixture with a 1-0-2 record. They started off the season with a 2:3 defeat against Atalanta at home, followed by a 1:0 defeat against Bologna in an away game and a 2:1 win against Lazio last weekend. All in all, they cannot be too happy with what they have shown so far, especially considering SPAL have managed to let a two-goal lead slip against Atlanta. While there is not a lot to take from their opening three matches, it's rather obvious SPAL tend to play some high scoring games, which is especially true for their road games. SPAL have seen at least three goals in last 5/6 away games, with the sole exception being the 0:1 loss to Bologna. That was also the only away game out of last seven in which SPAL did not score a goal.

In terms of last season, there was little to separate SPAL and Sassuolo as far as their final result is concerned, considering there was only one point separating them once the season came to a close. That being said, there is a noticeable difference between them when it comes to h2h fixtures, seeing how out of the last six fixtures, Sassuolo won three and three ended in a draw, meaning SPAL have yet to defeated Sassuolo.

Prediction

This fixture heavily favors Sassuolo, which should not come off as a surprise to anyone, considering it will be played at Mapei Stadium, where Sassuolo knows how to entertain their fans. That being said, we won’t bet on Sassuolo to win here, but rather focus on goals.

Sassuolo have only failed to score in four out of their last 20 home fixtures, with 12 of that 20 seeing at least three goals. Furthermore, Sassuolo conceded a goal in 13/20 home matches, clearly indicating that matches played at Mapei Stadium tend to see both teams score. By now it should be clear where we are going with this one. Expect an entertaining fixture with at least three goals on display.

Prediction: Over 2.50 Goals