Sassuolo vs Parma

March 1, 2014
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Bottom-placed Sassuolo have no choice but to try and end their losing run as soon as possible or else their survival hopes will go up in smoke. However, this is clearly not the right time to be facing high-flying Parma, who arrive in Reggio Emilia looking for a win that would seriously improve their chances of clinching European qualification.

Not all doom and gloom for Neroverdi

Despite starting the season with four heavy defeats, Sassuolo went on to show a great deal of promise, having produced some excellent showings even against Italy’s strongest sides. However, everything fell apart at the beginning of December, with the team losing ten of last eleven league fixtures to slip to Serie A rock bottom. This would be enough to suggest Alberto Malesani’s side are destined for the drop, but there is still plenty of time for them to turn things around. Sassuolo currently sit four points adrift of safety, but decent performances in away matches against Inter and Lazio could give them some reason for optimism. And while they continue to concede goals for fun, Neroverdi have plenty of quality up front, with the likes of Berardi, Zaza, Floccari and Floro Flores all capable of scoring goals on regular basis. Taking also into account that Sassuolo would be in all sorts of problems should they fail to defeat Parma, we can certainly expect the hosts to attack their more illustrious opponents from the off.

Sassuolo have plenty of problems at the back with Acerbi, Terranova and Ziegler sidelined and Thomas Manfredini doubtful with a thigh problem.

Parma continue to impress

Some shrewd transfer dealings have paid off big time for Parma, who are now rightly considered one of the contenders for the Europa League positions. Ducali kept reinforcing their squad over the years and it appears they are finally ready to mount a serious top 5 challenge. Roberto Donadoni’s side are packed with quality and especially experience, with the likes of Lucarelli, Paletta, Gargano, Paolo, Cassano and Amauri pulling the strings. Even if team’s performances were not that bad at all, Parma struggled to climb the league standings in the first part of the campaign, but they have been absolutely brilliant since mid November. Ducali are unbeaten in last thirteen league matches (W6 D7) and that has got to be considered an amazing run in a competition as strong as Serie A. As a result, Roberto Donadoni’s charges sit mere three points behind European positions, but also have a game in hand, meaning a win in Reggio Emilia would seriously improve their chances of achieving a top 5 finish. And having won last three league games on the road, scoring 9 goals in the process, Ducali have got to be considered favourites here.

Experienced midfielder Gianni Munari misses out through suspension, whereas talented defender Jherson Vergara is battling a muscle injury.

Verdict

Sassuolo will be attacking from the off and with some quality players up front, they can be trusted to make life difficult for Parma defenders. Meanwhile, Ducali have been scoring goals for fun on the road and with the hosts missing some important players at the back, they certainly look closer to winning at Stadio Citta de Tricolore.

Top pick: Both teams to score   1.78 (39/50) @ Unibet

Alternative pick 1: Over 2.5 goals   1.85 (17/20) @ bet365

Alternative pick 2: Away win   2.20 (6/5) @ Paddy Power

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