The relegation battle is heating up in Serie A. Last weekend’s results saw Hellas Verona move out of the bottom three at the expense of Sassuolo.
Round 26 will see several six-point matches at the bottom of the table.
Sassuolo will begin the round in 18th place due to goal difference. A win over Empoli could send them back out of the bottom three. With Empoli in 16th place and two points ahead of Sassuolo, this match is a massive six-point affair.
Sassuolo defeated Empoli in a wild 4-3 thriller in the reverse fixture. The Neroverdi won their last two games versus the Azzurri. However, Sassuolo took a mere one point from the last five games.
Empoli took nine points from their last five games and went unbeaten in all five fixtures. The Azzurri are Serie A’s lowest-scoring team, with just 19 goals.
Monza are coming off a 4-2 home win over AC Milan in Serie A and are unbeaten in their last four games. A 3-0 scoreline was the score Monza defeated Salernitana by earlier this season.
Indeed, the last three games between Salernitana and Monza in all competitions ended 3-0 in favour of the home team. Monza took eight points from the last 12 points on offer in Serie A. They kept three clean sheets in the last four matches.
Salernitana are still bottom of Serie A and likely to be relegated unless something changes quickly. The Granata took one point from the last six matches. Salernitana failed to score in two of their last three matches.
Five of the last six head-to-head encounters between Genoa and Udinese finished as draws. That includes the teams’ 2-2 stalemate in Udine earlier this season. Indeed, the last four games featuring Genoa and Udinese ended in draws.
No Serie A team has drawn more games this season than Udinese. The Zebrette have drawn 14 matches. Genoa aren’t too far behind Udinese in terms of draws, with nine. Udinese are just three points above the relegation zone, but took five points from the last six games.
Genoa are safe for now thanks to being 10 points ahead of the bottom three. However, the Grifone took a mere two points from the last nine on offer. Two of those three games ended with under 2.5 goals.
Last season’s champions are now on their third coach, as Walter Mazzarri was sacked in midweek. Francesco Calzona, a former Napoli assistant, will split time with the Partnopei and manage the Slovakian national team.
Napoli just edged Cagliari earlier this season, 2-1. The Islanders have been a thorn in Napoli’s side recently, picking up points in two of the last four meetings. Napoli took just eight points from the last six games, scoring five goals. It is a criminally low number with the players at Napoli.
Cagliari are 19th and one point away from safety. The team picked up a 1-1 draw away at Udinese last time out. The draw ended a four-game losing streak. Cagliari lost their last two away games.