Fiorentina vs Sassuolo prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-01-06 14:00.
Coach Vincenzo Italiano may have hoped for more as his Fiorentina side dominated their 2023 Serie A (SA) opener against newcomers Monza, but could only take a point (1-1). That result left Fiorentina in tenth place with a ten-point gap to the top six ahead of this round, and Italiano may be concerned to see his side winless in two competitive outings (D1, L1) after they collected five consecutive victories between October-November.
Their second home match in four days may provide Fiorentina the opportunity to get back on track as they have won three of their last five outings here (D1, L1), scoring 13 goals in the process. However, Sassuolo are far from an ideal opponent as they haven’t beaten them here since 2017 as part of a run that sees Fiorentina winless in the last four home H2Hs (D2, L2).
Domenico Berardi may have scored in his first SA game back since the end of August but watched on helplessly as his Sassuolo side lost 2-1 to Sampdoria, becoming only the second SA team to lose to the relegation-threatened outfit this season. To make matters worse, after four defeats in their last five top-flight matches (D1), Sassuolo’s cushion to bottom three has shrunk to only seven points.
The Neroverdi faithful will hope their side have found their scoring boots as they head south to Florence, having witnessed Sassuolo score just twice across their last five league matches (D1, L4). Concerningly, this record has been exacerbated on their travels where they have already conceded ten unanswered goals in a row since Georgios Kyriakopoulos’ strike on October 15.
Players to watch: Fiorentina’s Arthur Cabral opened the scoring with his third SA goal this term last time out, with four of his five competitive strikes this season arriving in the first half. Sassuolo’s Hamed Junior Traorè will be fighting to make an early impression himself, as he’s scored twice across the last four H2Hs, with both strikes arriving inside the opening 20 minutes.
Hot stat: Seven of Fiorentina’s eight home SA matches this season have produced the same HT/FT result (HT: W4, D2, L2).