Sassuolo vs. Cagliari: huge points at stake

Massive points up for grabs at the Mapei Stadium at lunchtime: second-to-last Sassuolo must win to move out of the relegation zone momentarily at least and take advantage of the other weekend’s six-pointer between Udinese and Empoli, scheduled for 15:00 CEST. Cagliari must also win, as they have a four-point lead over the Neroverdi, but are still only one place above the relegation zone. With three points, the Sardinians would take a huge step forward towards safety.

DID YOU KNOW?

Only Inter (85), AC Milan (66), Atalanta and Lazio (both 57) have won more points than Sassuolo considering only the first half of games in Serie A this season (50 at level with Genoa). On the other hand, Cagliari (31) would be second-bottom in this ranking, ahead of Salernitana (28). Sassuolo are the team that have dropped the most points from winning positions in Serie A this season (31); on the other hand, the Rossoblù have won 17 from losing positions in the competition – fewer only than Napoli (20) and Genoa (18) – however, only three of these have come in matches away from home.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Sassuolo and Cagliari have drawn 10 of their 17 Serie A matches (three Neroveri wins and four Rossoblù wins); against no other team have the Emilians collected more draws in the competition (10 also against Udinese). Cagliari won 2-1 in the reverse match against Sassuolo (with the Emilians' goal by Erlic, overturned the results thanks to goals in the 94th minute by Lapadula and in the 99th by Pavoletti) and could win both Serie A seasonal matches against the Neroverdi for the first time. Sassuolo have not lost any of their eight home Serie A matches against Cagliari (W2 D6), among the teams against which the Neroverdi have never lost in home matches in Serie A, the Sardinian side are the one they have faced the most (at least five more than against any other).

PLAYERS

Andrea Pinamonti has scored 29 goals in the last three Serie A seasons (since 2021/22) - including one for Empoli against Cagliari on 13 February 2022 - among players born since 1999, only Dusan Vlahovic (50) and Rafael Leão (34) have scored more than the Neroverde striker (29) in this run in the Italian top flight. Since his arrival in Serie A (2022/23), Armand Laurienté (40) is one of four players along with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (48), Rafael Leão (43) and Matteo Politano (41) with at least 40 chances created following carries in the competition. While, the black-and-green striker has scored Sassuolo's last three goals in home matches in the tournament (two vs Milan, one vs Inter). Nicolas Viola has scored five goals in 24 Serie A matches in this campaign, equalling his scoring record in the competition (five goals in 17 games for Benevento in 2020/21); Cagliari's last Italian midfielder to score more in a single top-flight season was Nicolò Barella in 2017/18 (six goals in 34 appearances.

DISCIPLINE

Suspended: none Cautioned: Pedersen, Ferrari (Sassuolo); Pavoletti, Dossena, Prat, Mina (Cagliari)

REFEREE

Doveri (Colarossi-Perrotti) IV: Dionisi, VAR: Di Paolo, AVAR: Mazzoleni

UPCOMING MATCHES IN SERIE A TIM

Lazio-Sassuolo Cagliari-Fiorentina (Photo Getty Images)