Sassuolo vs Salernitana Prediction: Dangerous Dia not enough for visitors

The 2023/24 season has been a mixed bag for Sassuolo so far, so the visit of winless Salernitana on Friday (17:30) might be a welcome sight for the Neroverdi.

Sassuolo themselves have not won in Serie A since September 27th, when they followed up a 4-2 victory over Juventus with a shock 2-1 win at Inter.

Five games without a league win is nothing compared to Salernitana, however, whose last victory in the competition came back in May.

Team News

Uruguayan forward Agustin Alvarez is yet to play for Sassuolo this season, and he misses out again with a knee injury. Pedro Obiang and Matheus Henrique are also rated as doubtful after missing the last four and five games respectively.

Samu Castillejo is among those pushing for a start after the home side's rotten recent run of form.

For the visitors, winger Jovane sat out last weekend's 2-0 defeat to Napoli with a calf injury, so he is a doubt for Friday.

Salernitana will be pinning their hopes on last season's stars, Boulaye Dia and Antonio Candreva, as they look to make it 12th time lucky in Serie A.

Match Odds

Sassuolo are 7/10 to snap out of their winless run and beat Salernitana at home for the third consecutive season, while the visitors are priced at 18/5 to finally record a victory. A draw can be backed at 3/1.

Boulaye Dia to score anytime @ 21/10

The Senegalese striker was one of the stars of the 2022/23 Serie A season, with his tally of 16 league goals only bettered by Victor Osimhen and Lautaro Martinez.

Dia's start to the current campaign was disrupted after he reportedly took a leave of absence in France without approval from his club, which led to a big fine.

After missing three games he returned on September 27th, and the 26-year-old scored his second and third goals of the season in a 2-2 draw against Cagliari on October 22nd.

That double is Salernitana's only goals since September 22nd, and they could desperately do with another here. At 21/10, Dia is a good price to score against Sassuolo, as he did in their last meeting in April.

The home side are also yet to keep a clean sheet in the league this season.

Sassuolo to win and both teams to score @ 2/1

Salernitana might be struggling to score, but a meeting of two of the worst defences in Serie A this season should see some goals produced on Friday.

I'm backing Sassuolo's superior firepower to push them over the line in this one, though, with Domenico Berardi (five) and Andrea Pinamonti (four) responsible for the majority of their 14 goals.

Sassuolo hit five past Salernitana in this fixture last season, and they should be confident of scoring multiple goals again at the Mapei Stadium on Friday.

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