Sassuolo vs SPAL 9/21/19 Serie A Preview

Sassuolo and SPAL go head to head on September 21, 2019 at the MAPEI Stadium as the Italian Serie A heads to Round 4.

Sassuolo

Unione Sportiva Sassuolo Calcio or Sassuolo for short, is an Italian football club that was established in 1920. Sassuolo has played in Serie A since the 2013/14 and it is currently among a group of teams playing in the Serie A who do not belong to a capital city. This club made their first ever Europa League group stage appearance in 2016 after finishing in 6th place. Sassuolo finished the 2018/19 Serie A season in 11th place.

Sassuolo is tied for third place in Goal Difference at +2 goals. They have scored a total of 5 goals on the season, fifth-most in the Serie A right now. Sassuolo has also allowed just three goals so far which puts them in 8th spot in the league. Three out of their five goals scored were assisted.

Forward Domenico Berardi is off to a hot start with already three goals scored in just two matches played. Midfielder Hamed Junior Traore also has one goal for Sassuolo while forward Francesco Caputo has one goal and one assist for the team. Midfielder Alfred Duncan leads Sassuolo with two assists on the season. Goalkeeper Andrea Consigli has conceded just three goals in two appearances.

SPAL

SPAL stands for Societa Polisportiva Ars et Labor, an Italian football club established in 1907. Overall, SPAL have played in 24 top-tier and 25 second-tier seasons in Italian football. Their best finish was during the 1959/60 Serie A season where they placed 5th in the final table. SPAL also reached the final of the 1961/62 Coppa Italia tournament. Last season, they played their third straight year in the top flight and they ended up in 13th place. SPAL are the soccer betting underdogs in this upcoming match against Sassuolo.

SPAL ranks 16th in the Serie A with their -2 Goal Difference after two matches played. They also rank 12th in the league with a haul of two goals so far this year and they are 13th overall with four goals conceded this season. Both of their goals scored were assisted.

Forwards Federico Di Francesco and Andrea Petagna have scored SPAL’s two goals this season. Petagna provided the assist on Di Francesco’s goal while  defender Igor assisted Petagna’s score. Goalkeeper Etrit Berisha has allowed four goals in two matches and has a total of 17 saves on the season.

Who Wins?

Sassuolo ranks 8th in the Serie A standings with an early record of 1-0-1 SU. They are coming off a 4-1 win over Sampdoria in their last outing. Meanwhile, SPAL is 0-2 SU on the season. The league’s 17th ranked team went scoreless during their most recent match, a 0-1 loss to Bologna. SPAL also lost to Atalanta, 2-3 in their opening round match. Head to head, these sides have played in a total of four matches in their history. Sassoulo is unbeaten against SPAL with a record of 2-0-2 SU.

Sassuolo is playing good soccer early in the season with their +2 goal difference. Against Sampdoria, they had 70% of the ball possession and had a very high 89% of correct passes. Coach De Zerbi has done a wonderful job with this young team. Sassuolo likes to play fast football, usually using their wings. On defense however, they are inconsistent and lack the experience. When you ask me about the entire season, I don’t think Sassuolo is going to finish higher than they did last season. This is a very young team that needs to grow over time in order to compete with the elite teams of the Serie A. They also don’t have the depth to excel at the European level. However, against a struggling side like SPAL, I think Sassuolo will be able to score enough goals to win the match. They have not lost to SPAL ever and I think that trend will continued here. I’m picking Sassuolo to beat SPAL on 9/21/19. Prediction: Sassuolo

Place Your Bet Here