Napoli and Sassuolo open the 12th round of Serie A on Saturday. Napoli are looking to extend their unbeaten streak to 17 matches in all competitions, while Sassuolo look to build off of a come-from-behind victory over Hellas Verona.
SSC Napoli
Napoli won their 12th match in all competitions on Wednesday with a 3-0 victory over Rangers in the UEFA Champions League. Giovanni Simeone, who scored two goals in the opening 16 minutes, was one of six changes Luciano Spalletti made to the squad he fielded against Roma.
Victor Osimhen, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Piotr Zielinski were amongst the players who were rested, so Spalletti’s squad will not be fatigued after yet another midweek fixture. Spalletti could also have André-Frank Zambo Anguissa back in the starting XI. Anguissa returned to the squad on Wednesday but did not feature.
US Sassuolo
Sassuolo find themselves sitting in the middle of the table, despite selling their two best players (again). Gianluca Scamacca and Giacomo Raspadori were the latest of a long list of players Sassuolo have sold for a profit in recent years. For Raspadori, it will be his first match against the club who raised him from a very young age.
Sassuolo have remained competitive over the years through quality scouting. This year’s crop of young talent includes Kristian Thorstvedt, Luca D’Andrea (who happens to be Napoletano), Armand Laurienté, Emil Ceide and Augustin Alvarez. They will form the core of the squad for the next two-three seasons, with Davide Frattesi and Maxime Lopez likely to be sold next season.
Injuries/Suspensions
For Napoli, Amir Rrahmani continues to recover from a thigh muscle injury that will keep him out until 2023. Salvatore Sirigu contunues to do therapy for a muscle injury as well.
For Sassuolo, Mert Müldür continues to recover from surgery to repair a fracture of the medial malleolus of the right ankle. Meanwhile, Gregoire Defrel remains out with a fractured metatarsal suffered in training. Domenico Berardi has also been ruled out for this match.
Probable Formations
Manager’s Comments
Luciano Spalletti:
No pre-match press conference
Alessio Dionisi:
“We respect Napoli a lot. We have to have a bit of presumption/ambition to think about going there, to have opportunities and to get a positive result, knowing that we can be the 16th team on this list but we would like to put Napoli in difficulty. Napoli is almost unplayable and is achieving thee results with games, ideas, organization. We will try to not distort ourselves knowing that we will have to defend ourselves well and try to take advantage of the opportunities we deserve”
Previous Meetings
| April 30, 2022 | SSC Napoli | 6-1 | US Sassuolo |
| December 1, 2021 | US Sassuolo | 2-2 | SSC Napoli |
| March 3, 2021 | US Sassuolo | 3-3 | SSC Napoli |
| November 1, 2020 | SSC Napoli | 0-2 | US Sassuolo |
| July 25, 2020 | SSC Napoli | 2-0 | US Sassuolo |
Match Officials
Head Official: Antonio Rapuano
Assistants: Giovanni Baccini and Fabio Schirru
Fourth Official: Daniele Perenzoni
VAR: Valerio Marini and Federico Longo
