Are the Giallorossi championship contenders?
The Giallorossi have certainly not lost their solid foundation under Gian Piero Gasperini despite two consecutive competitive defeats. We see La Magica as the favorites in the Sassuolo vs. AS Roma tip and could even imagine putting a sports betting bonus on a win bet for the visitors.
Gasperini is still establishing his style of play – but after seven league games, it’s still enough for fourth place in the table. The Wolves are performing better away from home than in previous years. In our Sassuolo vs. AS Roma prediction, the visitors are eyeing their fourth win in their fourth away league game of the season.
The maximum focus so far has been on developing a new identity in defense – with visible success. The Romans have defended better than any other league competitor so far: No other team has conceded fewer goals than the visitors (3), and that’s with Gasperini’s well-known pressing game.
Their high pressing (8.9 passes per defensive action in the attacking third allowed – the second-lowest figure in the entire Serie A) resulted in the most pressing sequences (93) in the Italian top flight. However, there were no empty spaces around their own penalty area.
The fourth-placed team is visiting newly promoted Sassuolo. The hosts are led by a world-famous man – Fabio Grosso. The former Italian international took over the Neroverdi just before last season in Serie B and led them straight back to the Italian top flight.
There, Grosso’s team quickly settled into mid-table (10th), with their attacking play proving to be a limiting factor. Only five teams have scored fewer expected goals (7.06 xG) this season. That settles it for us.
Sassuolo – AS Roma Head-to-head record
The Giallorossi have won their last two consecutive matches against the Neroverdi (1-0, 2-1). After a break of just over 1.5 years, the next direct duel will take place on the eighth matchday of this season. Gasperini’s team has won every away league game so far (3W). As in the rest of the season’s games, defensive work has been a top priority – the goal difference in away games is only five goals (4:1) so far.
Not too much initiative is to be expected from Grosso’s team. The black and greens like to settle into a slightly deeper block, allowing an average of 14.4 passes per defensive action in the opponent’s third (15th) and relying on individual moments from Domenico Berardi and Co.
Sassuolo – AS Roma Tip
Full steam ahead is the motto of the Romans when it comes to pressing. Hardly any opponent finds a way into the penalty area against the Giallorossi and their pressing behavior – especially not unchallenged. No other team in Serie A allowed fewer opponent touches in their own box (94).
The rate of 50 percent of opponent shots from within their own box is also outstanding – no other team in the Italian top flight can compete with that. In addition, opposing teams only had scoring chances worth 5.95 expected goals against AS Roma (3rd).
Based on the data, we consider the probability of a game without a goal from the home team to be significantly higher than the bookmakers’ odds suggest. So far, the Giallorossi have kept a clean sheet (4) more often than they have finished a league game with a goal conceded (3). La Magica fans have had to come to terms with more than one goal conceded in a league game this season.
