Sassuolo - Bologna Prediction, Picks and Tips
The twelfth round of the Italian Serie A starts with a derby. After last weekend's Matthijs de Ligt could decide the Derby della Mole between Turin FC and Juventus in favor of the favorite, this weekend is a much smaller derby on the program. In the Emilia-Romagna region the two Serie A clubs Sassuolo and Bologna face each other! The two cities can be reached by car in less than an hour. And also in the table the difference is extremely small. Sassuolo (one less) ranks 15th, Bologna is 13th. Due to the relatively recent history of this football derby, the rivalry is not very big. Nevertheless, there is a lot at stake on Friday evening for the opening of the twelfth matchday of the current championship. The winner has the great opportunity to earn a small cushion on the relegation ranks. There is no favorite for the bookmakers, because in the derby between Sassuolo and Bologna are fully balanced odds offered.
40-year-old head coach Roberto de Zerbi is considered one of Italy's most talented young coaches. He is currently playing the second season with the US Sassuolo and reached in the previous year a strong eleventh place in the table. Basically, he confirms the performance from the previous season, as Sassuolo also finished eleventh. However, a big difference was to be found in the style of play, because instead of only 29 goals this season, the team under de Zerbi scored a proud 53 goals in the previous year. In the first ten games of the current season, this cut could be significantly increased again. Captain and ex-international Domenico Berardi present themselves in a very strong shape. The winger has already scored seven goals this season, compared to the right winger in the past season scored only eight times in 35 games. After Sassuolo won the first two home games, it last set three defeats in series. Only two times in the still young Serie A history, the Green-Black lost four home games in series (March 2014 and April 2017). Sassuolo had only four home defeats in Mapei Stadium for the entire season. In the category "successful flanks" Sassuolo is not only underground in the national comparison, but has even the worst value in the top five leagues of Europe. Only 9.4% of the flanks find a teammate, the rest sails somewhere in the off or the opponent. The game over the wings is therefore not necessarily one of the strengths of Sassuolo.
Ibrahimovic soon zlatanisiert in the jersey of Rossoblu? In fact, the fans of Bologna have the hope that the Swedish eccentric could change in the winter in the university city. At first glance, this looks absolutely utopian, but Ibrahimovic had in recent weeks more contact with the suffering from leukemia Bologna head coach Sinisa Mihajlovic. The two know each other from common inter-days and Mihajlovic hopes to convince Ibrahimovic of Bologna. Sport Director Riccardo Bigon confirmed the talks and agreed to sign up for the deal. Undoubtedly, this would be one of the most sensational deals in winter. Whether the hungry for success Ibrahimovic but actually convinced of a commitment to a team from the rear midfield, remains to be seen. After a good start to the season (seven points from three games), Bologna collected in the latest eight league games only five points. The shape curve shows clearly downwards. Analogous to the home weakness of Sassuolo, Bologna is extremely weak in foreign countries. The last three away games were all lost, in the Mihajlovic era Bologna has not yet lost four away games in series. However, this weak away record in the duel between Sassuolo and Bologna makes the forecast for the guests anything but tempting. The task in the Derby is complicated by several failures. Defender Mattia Bani is in the yellow, with newcomers Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mitchell Dijks (both full-backs) injured as well as striker Mattia Destro.
Our recommendation tip for Sassuolo - Bologna : BTS / YES @ 1.54