After beating Crvena Zvezda in the play-offs, Sassuolo embark on their first ever Europa League campaign by playing host to Athletic.

Los Leones ended a two-match losing run by defeating Deportivo La Coruna and they head to Stadio Citta del Tricolore in good spirits.

Sassuolo were without a doubt the biggest surprise package of the previous Serie A season, producing some excellent performances on the road to a sixth-place finish.

The Neroverdi kept the entire squad together before beginning their Europa League qualifying campaign and in turn defeated Luzern and Crvena Zvezda to reach the group phase.

Meanwhile, they beat Palermo away and then Pescara at home in Serie A, but ultimately had the second game awarded to the opposition after fielding an ineligible player.

Sassuolo could do little to avoid a 3-1 loss to star-studded Juventus at the weekend, but they will see the Athletic game as a perfect opportunity to return to winning ways.

The Neroverdi are available at 2.70 (17/10) to claim maximum points, but they will not have an easy job as a couple of important players are missing.

Key winger Domenico Berardi and talented midfielder Stefano Sensi are out injured, but Paolo Cannavaro and Gregoire Defrel should return.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Consigli – Lirola, Acerbi, Cannavaro, Peluso – Biondini, Magnanelli, Duncan – Politano, Matri, Defrel.

Athletic Bilbao have become regular in European competitions of late, and they always give their best in the Europa League.

This season hasn’t had the desired start as los Leones suffered back to back defeats to Sporting Gijon and Barcelona, but they have since returned to the right track.

Athletic defeated Deportivo La Coruna on the road in their first fixture after the international break and the win certainly helped the players restore some of the lost confidence.

The aim now is to continue with promising performances and there are no doubts that los Leones will take the game very seriously.

Even though Gorka Iraizoz and Kepa have played in goal in the league this season, Iago Herrerin is certain to start vs Sassuolo, as he is Athletic’s go-to guy for European competitions.

Ager Aketxe misses out through injury, while Ander Iturraspe and Markel Susaeta are pushing for starting positions.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1) Iago – De Marcos, Boveda, Laporte, Balenziaga – San Jose, Benat – Williams, Raul Garcia, Muniain – Aduriz.