The bottom two sides in the Serie A table will square off on Friday, as Salernitana welcome Sassuolo to the Stadio Arechi.
With eight league games left to play, the hosts remain rooted to the foot of the division, 10 points behind their hosts who are only a point adrift of safety.
Match preview
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After avoiding Serie A relegation in impressive fashion in the previous two seasons, Salernitana have had to endure a dismal campaign this time around, finding themselves all but condemned to the drop after 30 games with just 14 points on the board.
In those 30 outings, I Granata have managed just two victories, both of which came in 2023, and they have since added just two more points to their tally in 12 attempts since the turn of the year.
That poor run early in 2024 spelled the end for Filippo Inzaghi's brief managerial tenure, and Fabio Liverani would go on to oversee four defeats and a draw before Stefano Colantuono returned to lead the club during the March international break.
In his third spell in charge, their first outing was a trip to Bologna on Monday, and the returning boss was unable to inspire an instant turnaround, as goals from Riccardo Orsolini, Alexis Saelemaekers and Charalampos Lykogiannis condemned them to a 3-0 defeat, making it three straight top-flight losses for I Granata for the third time this calendar year.
Now sitting 10 points behind 19th spot and 11 adrift of safety in Serie A with just eight games left to play, any hopes Salernitana have of remaining competitive hinge on a dramatic upturn in form in the final run-in, and they will set out to start by ending their three-month wait for a third league win of the season on Friday.
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Their visitors also head into the game with a gap to safety, albeit a much smaller one ahead of the final weeks of the campaign, having also endured a disappointing season by their own standards in Serie A.
Sassuolo are in the midst of their 11th straight term in Serie A and find their top-flight status at more risk than ever, having not finished below 13th in the last nine years, only to currently sit in the drop zone in the midst of a dismal run of form.
From their 30 games thus far, I Neroverdi have only earned 24 points, winning just six of those, with the most recent triumph coming in early March and ending an eight-game streak which only produced a single point at the beginning of the new year.
Under the tutelage of Davide Ballardini since the start of March, I Neroverdi have been unable to build on that return to winning ways at home to Frosinone in two further attempts since, firstly travelling to Roma prior to the recent international break and suffering a 1-0 defeat, before returning to action at home to Udinese and taking a point from a 1-1 draw, having gone ahead in the 41st minute through Gregoire Defrel, only to be immediately pegged back by a Florian Thauvin leveller.
Such a result did see Sassuolo remain within a point of safety ahead of the final eight Serie A matches of the campaign, and they will now set out to leap out of the bottom three and give their survival hopes a major boost with a much-needed victory on the road on Friday.
Team News
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Salernitana will remain without veteran defender Federico Fazio on Friday due to an injury, while Grigoris Kastanos also missed their first game back from the international break and could again be absent at the weekend.
After their 3-0 defeat last time out, Stefano Colantuono may opt to make several changes to his starting XI, with Jerome Boateng perhaps coming into the defence from the outset, having made a brief substitute appearance against Bologna after returning from his own injury setback.
If Boulaye Dia continues to miss out, Simy may continue to lead the line, while 37-year-old Antonio Candreva continues to be a key man in a supporting role having scored five and assisted six of his side's 23 Serie A goals so far this term.
Sassuolo are set to remain without talismanic attacker Domenico Berardi, who has missed their last three games through injury after only recently returning from a previous layoff, having netted nine league goals so far this term and surpassing 10 in Serie A in each of the previous four seasons.
In his absence, plenty of attacking responsibility will again fall on striker Andrea Pinamonti, who has also scored nine goals in Italy's top flight this campaign, while Kristian Thorstvedt and Gregoire Degrel will continue in a supporting trio with Samu Castillejo vying to come back in from the outset.
Behind them, Daniel Boloca and Pedro Obiang will both battle for spots in midfield after Uros Racic was preferred alongside regular Matheus Henrique in their meeting with Udinese on Monday.
Salernitana possible starting lineup:
Costil; Pierozzi, Manolas, Boateng, Pellegrino; Tchaouna, Sambia, Coulibaly, Bradaric; Candreva; Simy
Sassuolo possible starting lineup:
Consigli; Toljan, Tressoldi, Ferrari, Doig; Boloca, Henrique; Defrel, Thorstvedt, Castillejo; Pinamonti
We say: Salernitana 1-2 Sassuolo
The visitors are certainly far from their best, and have been throughout the entirety of the Serie A campaign thus far, but even without their talisman Berardi, Sassuolo do have the superior quality to get past the basement side on Friday and take a huge step towards survival with a return to winning ways on Friday.
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Sam Varley
