10 March 2016
Happy travellers
Sassuolo boast the sixth strongest away record in the division, having brought home 20 points from outside Reggio Emilia this term. The only teams to have performed better than them on the road are this season’s well-established top five clubs: Juventus, Napoli, Roma, Fiorentina and Inter.
The Neroverdi have picked up their points consistently over the course of the campaign, winning early on in Bologna and Palermo, in the winter against Sampdoria and Inter, before sealing the spoils on their last league trip away to Lazio.
Quick on the counter
Sassuolo may enjoy less possession on average than other Serie A sides (46.73 per cent), but when they get hold of the ball, they’re capable of doing plenty with it, especially from wide areas.
In Domenico Berardi on the right side of attack and Nicola Sansone on the left, manager Eusebio Di Francesco has two talented players, blessed with pace, who like to switch the play from one wing to the other.
Further evidence for their favouring the flanks are the 225 crosses that they have whipped in over the course of their 14 away games. Only Atalanta (232), Inter (248) and Lazio (313) have fashioned more on their travels this term.
Resolute rearguard
Perhaps the main factor behind Sassuolo’s success this season has been their dogged defence, which has let in 31 goals in total and just 14 on the road.
Di Francesco’s men have kept five clean sheets outside the Mapei Stadium walls this season, four of which leading to victories.
Only four teams have conceded more shots on target away from home than the Neroverdi (56) this term – proof that the entire outfit works hard to keep the opposition attack at bay.
Berardi brilliance
That Berardi represents a crucial outlet for his side up front there can be little doubt. The forward has netted a quarter of Sassuolo’s goals on the road this season (4 from 16), while getting away the most efforts on target (12).
The good news for the Neroverdi, however, is that the 21-year-old is far from the only player to create scoring opportunities (nine), with central midfielder Francesco Magnanelli (10), Sansone (12), and right-back Sime Vrsaljko (14) all chipping in heavily going forwards.
