Preview: Sassuolo vs. Roma - prediction, team news, lineups

After their midweek Coppa Italia exit caused Jose Mourinho to once again lash out at his Roma squad, the Giallorossi visit Sassuolo as they return to Serie A duty on Sunday.

A limp loss to Inter in the cup quarter-finals followed last week's disappointing home draw with Genoa, so the pressure is on the visitors to react against an inconsistent home side.

Match preview

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Though Roma have not lost any of their last three league games, and this weekend could go unbeaten for four straight matches for the first time in over a year, many fans and their demanding head coach are far from content.

Just days after being held goalless by Serie A strugglers Genoa at Stadio Olimpico - a game in which Nicolo Zaniolo was sent off late on for dissent - the Giallorossi were beaten 2-0 in Milan by league leaders Inter, in the last eight of the Coppa Italia.

Even if dreams of a first cup triumph since 2008 are now over for another year - much to the disgust of Jose Mourinho, who apparently accused his players of lacking courage at San Siro - Roma are still very much in the mix for European football next year, sitting seventh in the standings ahead of the weekend.

Locked on points with city rivals Lazio, they trail Juventus - who occupy the final Champions League spot - by six points, but in order to catch up they will surely need to improve a hit-and-miss away record.

Roma are the only side yet to draw a Serie A away match this season, having lost six times and won five on the road, and will therefore be glad to now face a mid-table side they have historically dominated.

Before the trip to Reggio-Emilia on Sunday, the capital club have lost only once before against Sassuolo in the Italian top flight in 17 meetings - including the reverse fixture earlier this season, which ended in a 2-1 victory in Rome.

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While Sassuolo were edged out by this week's visitors at Stadio Olimpico last September - missing out on a point due to Stephan El Shaarawy's stoppage-time winner for Roma - their away form has been among the top eight in Serie A this term.

However, the Neroverdi have failed to prosper on home soil so far, picking up only three victories from 12 previous league outings at the Mapei Stadium. As a result, they remain mired in mid-table mediocrity - being 10 points adrift of the Rome clubs in the competition for continental football and 11 clear of the bottom three.

Last week's 4-0 humbling at struggling Sampdoria and Thursday night's Coppa Italia loss to Juventus are just the latest in a sequence of results featuring just two wins from their last nine games, and Sassuolo are certainly falling short of the high standards set during recent campaigns.

Though they responded to their drubbing by Samp by almost taking Juve into extra time in midweek, Alessio Dionisi's men were denied a further 30 minutes in their quest for a first ever national cup by Ruan Tressoldi's unfortunate 88th-minute own goal; created by a powerful run and strike from the Bianconeri's Dusan Vlahovic.

After also losing their last home game in Serie A (a 4-2 defeat versus Verona), the Neroverdi will now seek to avoid suffering successive home defeats in the league for the first time since October 2019. Their case to do so is not helped, however, by failing to keep a clean sheet in any of their last nine matches at the Mapei Stadium.

Team News

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As Roma forward Nicolo Zaniolo received his marching orders late on against Genoa last weekend - and not for the first time this season - the Italy international must serve a suspension this Sunday.

In his absence, Stephan El Shaarawy - who bagged the winner when the Giallorossi last met Sassuolo - could join top scorer Tammy Abraham up front.

Having made his return to the bench over the past couple of matches, influential midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini, who played 47 times and scored nine Serie A goals for the Neroverdi, is now ready to start. However, long-term injury victim Leonardo Spinazzola is joined on the sidelines by Brazilian defender Roger Ibanez, who sustained a knee injury in midweek and could be out of action until next month at least.

Meanwhile, Sassuolo made a handful of changes for the Coppa Italia defeat at Juventus, but are likely to revert to a more familiar XI this weekend.

First-choice goalkeeper Andrea Consigli, centre-back Vlad Chiriches and midfield regular Davide Frattesi are set to return to the starting lineup, which will feature star man Domenico Berardi up front.

Usually featuring on the right side of an Italy international-packed forward line, Berardi has been directly involved in five goals in his last four league games and is the only player to have both scored at least nine goals and provided nine or more assists in Serie A this season.

Furthermore, he has also played a decisive part in four goals in his last four matches versus Roma, but the Neroverdi captain will be without both of his national team colleagues this time out, as Giacomo Raspadori and Gianluca Scamacca are unavailable due to suspension.

Sassuolo possible starting lineup:
Consigli; Muldur, Chiriches, Ferrari, Rogerio; Frattesi, Lopez, Henrique; Traore, Defrel, Berardi

Roma possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Maitland-Niles, Smalling, Mancini, Vina; Cristante, Oliveira; Mkhitaryan, Pellegrini, El Shaarawy, Abraham

We say: Sassuolo 1-2 Roma

Though both sides are in patchy form and will be affected by suspensions, the hosts are most impacted by having to remodel their dangerous attacking triumvirate.

As they have also failed to fire on home turf several times this season, Sassuolo can be picked off by a Roma team desperate to recover from another tough week with a win.

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