You can read my thoughts on the Serie A game below, I have suggested an alternative play/way to approach this for subscribers, which I have removed, but the rest of the notes are unchanged. I will be back later today with another post, I am in a blogging mood today !

Serie A : Sassuolo- Juventus

 

Sassuolo has had a massive weekend without playing, the three clubs below them in the table and Chievo, the only team ahead of them they can realistically catch, all lost and that has greatly increased their survival chances.
 

They can relax a little and at close to full strength and against almost anyone else , I would fancy them today, however, it is Juve they have to meet and the home side have to do so missing a host of players through injury and suspension. The visitors are closing in on the title and can clinch it in front of their own supporters and a big televison audience next Monday, if they win today and in Turin against Atalanta in seven days time. That would mean they could go to Roma in their penultimate game with the title secure and 100 point target still possible with a draw in that fixture, so a very big incentive to win today.
 

They do have the distraction of the return leg with Benfica in the Europa League semi final on Thursday, but they have made few concessions to that competition so far and the lure of becoming the first Italian team in history to hit 100 points is great indeed, so hard to see any let up from the Old Lady.

Three massive suspensions today for Sassuolo , with top scorer Domenico Berardi (26-13-6...........hosts have scored just once in the 8 starts he has missed, conceding 21 goals) and midfielders Simone Missiroli (24-1-0) and Davide Biondini (28-1-2) all missing. Beradi gets the headlines, but Sassuolo are 0-0-10 when Missiroli plays 17 minutes or less.
 

In addition, they have a crowded treatment room, this is a big squad, but the three suspensions look too much to overcome. They can afford to go for this, but the road trip to Fiorentina next Tuesday, when they get the trio of banned players back and their opponent will have played a Coppa Italia final a couple of days earlier, offers more.
 

Hosts have lost 2-0 here to the other top three teams in 2014 and the reverse fixture in Turin by a 4-0 scoreline and another defeat, without personally troubling the scoreboard operator, seems most likely.

The visitors have named one man and his dog for the trip, including Arturo Vidal and Andrea Barzagli, who have spent the last week training apart from the main squad.
 

Juve -1 ball asian line looks solid, but is way too short for me personally, if I can ..............
 

The visitors have won 12 road games and have been level at the break in 8 of those, so the draw half time - Juve full time double result makes some appeal at circa 4.0, but Sassuolo were behind to both Napoli and Roma at the break and 3-0 down at half time in the reverse fixture and Juve might want to get this done and dusted asap amd turn their focus to Thursday.
 

Carlos Tevez had a field day in that game, a hat-trick and assist and I suspect he will be very keen to start today and his inclusion from the off will be a firm statement of intent.

Sassuolo: Pegolo, Polito, Pomini, Antei, Ariaudo, Cannavaro, Gazzola, Longhi, Mendes, Pucino, Rosi, Terranova, Ziegler, Brighi, Chibsah, Magnanelli, Marrone, Farias, Floccari, Floro Flores, Masucci, Sanabria, Sansone, Zaza.
 

Juventus : Buffon, Chiellini, Caceres, Ogbonna, Pogba, Pepe, Marchisio, Vucinic, Tevez, Giovinco, Peluso, Llorente, Barzagli, Osvaldo, Bonucci, Padoin, Pirlo, Asamoah, Vidal, Lichtsteiner, Quagliarella, Storari, Isla, Rubinho.

Stats: Juve are 8-1-0 on the road when level at half time, Sassuolo are 1-1-5 when all square at the break. The visitors have scored over 72% of away goals between the 31st and 80th minute.
 

Incredibly, they have scored only three times all season home and away in the final 10 minutes of games, so expect them to "switch off"  and play out the last ten if they are in control.