Sassuolo and Napoli will face each other other in one of the most interesting games of Serie A’s opening weekend.

Napoli news

Napoli had a very disappointing season in 2014-2015. They started by being eliminated in the Champions League qualifiers by Athletic Bilbao, and only finished 5th in Serie A, thus failing to qualify to Europe’s biggest club competition for the first time in the past three years.

The only somewhat convincing showings came in the Europa League, where they were eliminated by the surprise of the competition, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, in the semi-finals in a controversial tie.

The Partenopei were active in the market, but not as much as much as the other top teams in Italy such as Juventus, Milan, Inter and Roma. The biggest additions by the club were both midfielders: Mirko Valdifiori, from Empoli and Allan, from Udinese. Nonetheless, the biggest change will be Maurizio Sarri replacing Rafael Benítez, who left to coach none other than Real Madrid replacing Carlo Ancelotti.

Sarri’s Empoli was one of the biggest revelations in the peninsula last season, with their attractive free flowing football gaining a lot of positive attention, despite it not translating into truly great results. Valdifiori was one of the key players for his side, so a lot will be expected from him the upcoming season. It will be crucial for Napoli that he replicates his form if they are to battle for a Champions League spot again.

Although no big singings were made, they were able to keep the likes of Gonzalo Higuaín, Jose Callejon and Dries Mertens in the squad, despite receiving lucrative offers for them from aborad. 

Sarri spoke to the media ahead of the game: “Sassuolo are the worst team we could be facing. They have been playing three years under the same coach, are a very strong team and are a club that can afford big purchases."

Sassuolo news

Sassuolo are only playing in the Serie A for the third in time in their history, following their promotion in 2013. They struggled in the first season, narrowly avoiding relegation by two points, but had an impressive campaign in 2014-15, finishing 12th, only seven points away from a Europa League qualification spot.

The departure of Simone Zaza undoubtedly left a whole in the neroverdi’s attack. He was, along Berardi, the crucial player of the team and a big part in the team’s recent success, scoring 20 goals in the past two years. Gregoire Defrel will have the task of replacing him, following a move from Cesena for a figure around €7 million.

Despite this departure, Sassuolo were able to keep for one two players wanted by many top teams in Italy. Striker Domenico Berardi, co-owned by Sassuolo and Juventus, was fully acquired this summer, but the bianconeri kept a buy back clause that will most likely be used next year. Also right back Simone Vrsaljko, who was on the verge of signing for Napoli, will stay at the neroverdi for now.

Di Francesco gave his thoughts on the match-up: “I watched them play during the summer and you can already see the hand of Sarri in the team. A great coach who this year will be in charge of a squad with a lot of potential, particularly when it comes to the attack."

Predicted line-ups:

Napoli: Reina; Maggio, Albiol, Chiriches, Hysaj; Allan, Valdifiore, Hamsik; Insigne; Callejón, Higuaín

Sassuolo: Consigli; Vrsaljko, Cannavaro, Acerbi, Peluso; Biondini, Missiroli, Duncan; Berardi, Defrel, Sansone

Players to watch:

Domenico Berardi: The Italian striker was linked with a move to Juventus but will stay for one more season. After a superb 2013-2014 a lot was expected of him last term, and lived up to those and then someone. He has scored 31 goals in only 61 games in the past two seasons, also adding 17 assists during that period.

Gonzalo Higuaín: He had an awful end to last season, missing the penalty that cost Napoli qualification to the Champions League against Lazio (although he scored two goals that game) and then missed another in the Copa America final that Argentina lost to Chile. But he will try to shake that off and prove why he’s rated as one of the best strikers in Europe. 

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Hernán Busso
European football and tennis fanatic. You can follow me on twitter: https://twitter.com/Hernan1897