On Friday evening it’s Sassuolo vs Benevento in the first game of the weekend fixtures. Sassuolo will be hoping a win can push them into second place in Serie A.

Sassuolo

It has been an impressive start to the league campaign for Sassuolo. Currently, they’re placed 5th in the table. However, a win on Friday night would push them into second place, four points behind league leaders AC Milan.

Following a 3-0 home defeat to Inter Milan at the end of November. Sassuolo held out for a 0-0 away at Roma in their last league game. Manager Roberto De Zerbi will be hoping to get back to winning ways against his old club Benevento on Friday. Roberto De Zerbi’s team will need to find the form which saw them scoring freely at the beginning of the season. Sassuolo hasn’t scored in their last two games, and that must be a worry for the manager.

The bookmakers seem less concerned by Sassoulo’s recent dip in form. Boylesports is pricing up Sassuolo as 4/6 favourites to win the clash. You can get 3/1 on the draw and a hefty 7/2 on Benevento snatching the points. Punters should take note of the lack of goals from both sides and their relatively strong defences. A low scoring game could be on the cards. Personally, I think Sassuolo will just edge this encounter, but I expect it to be a tight game.

BENEVENTO

Newly promoted Benevento have enjoyed an excellent start to the season. The highlight of the campaign so far was a 1-1 draw with Juventus. In early season fixtures, Benevento conceded goals at an alarming rate. However, defensive performances have improved in the last three games.

Benevento might fancy their chances of picking up a point away at Sassuolo. A recent draw against Juve will give them confidence heading into this clash against their old manager Roberto De Zerbi. Nevertheless, the bookies aren’t overly optimistic about Benevento’s chances – you can get a juicy 3/1 on the game-ending all square.

One bet that Benevento fans might want to consider is the anytime scorer punt. Benevento’s Marco Sau has scored four goals against Sassuolo in Serie A. You can get 9/4 on him netting anytime during the match and 9/1 on him scoring first.

Team News

Roberto de Zerbi is without centre-backs Filippo Romagna and Vlad Chiriches. Gregoire Defrel and Francesco Caputo are missing from the forward line.

Benevento will likely be without Massimo Volta, Iago Falque, Nicolas Viola, Luca Caldirola, Christian Maggio and Gabriele Moncini.