Bologna – Sassuolo

Sassuolo will secure at least a draw against Bologna

With the arrival of Thiago Motta, Bologna are experiencing a second youth. The team were able to pick up four wins (one of them in the Italian Cup) and consolidate their place in the standings. The success came against Lecce (2-0), Monza (1-2) and Torino (2-1). The coach has restructured the squad, changing some players' positions, and pulling some of them off the bench and making them core players. In this form, Bologna have been very successful, but not without flaws. The team's hegemony was interrupted in last week's match against Inter. "The Rossoblu scored first, but then missed as many as six times. The team completely crumbled, and as many as five yellow cards in their squad indicated that the game had clearly not gone according to plan. Sassuolo, after two defeats, managed to secure one point. "The Neroverdi were held to a draw against Roma and move up one spot. Dionisi's men played well against Roma and gave Jose Mourinho yet another reason to hold an angry press conference. However, this result is a credit to Sassuolo, not Roma's problem. They have not exactly been resplendent in recent times but they have also been up against some tough competition. Of their three defeats in their last five games, two were against Atalanta and Napoli. Of particular note is the return to the pitch of Domenico Berardi. The club clearly hope that this time he has finally healed his injury. As good as Bologna were before the match against Inter, the team is still raw for a long winning streak. Cagliari, Lecce and Monza are hardly opponents that can show the real level of Motta's charges. It is worth noting that Sassuolo have been very successful against Bologna. "The Neroverdi have won three of their last five face-offs and there has been a draw once. The Dionisi side should not lose now either.