AS Roma vs Sassuolo
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Today’s free tip is in the Italian Serie A encounter between AS Roma and Sassuolo.
It seems to me that AS Roma are doing their level best to becoming Italy’s answer to Spain’s Sevilla CF by making kinds of quirky signings and simply hoping for the best. It’s not as if AS Roma don’t have any quality in their squad; they do. However, with such short-tempered fans (who are intent on blaming the club’s owner for everything that goes wrong there), a managerial merry-go-round, and signings that seem to be picked out by someone wearing a blindfold, it’s hardly surprising that AS Roma are rapidly becoming the circus of Italian football. Considering that there have been all kinds of match-fixing in Serie A over the years, to become the biggest circus of the lot really does take some effort.
Even when AS Roma get it right, they find a way to make it wrong. Take manager Di Francesco, for example. He was well on the way to turning AS Roma into a strong team that could play in numerous ways. He had restored the pride in the club. He had got the fans back on board. Then AS Roma decided to sack him. It seems to me that it doesn’t matter if you do a good job or not at AS Roma; you’re sacked either way. Their latest manager is Portugal’s Fonseca, who did a decent enough job at Shakhtar Donetsk. It took him at least year a to settle in but after that, they were good. AS Roma appear to have glossed over that part of his CV though, so I’m sure he’ll be out at some stage, which is a shame – he’s a good manager. Then again, so’s Di Francesco. The list goes on.
On paper, AS Roma are capable of putting out a splendid squad – well, at least in attack! They’ve got Dzeko and Kalinic as goal-scorers, both of which just seem to get better with age. They’ve got fantastic creators in Under, Mkhitaryan, Cristante, Perotti, and Pastore. Kluivert does his bit too, I suppose, but I’m not his biggest fan at this time. There are options in this squad – quality ones at that – so they shouldn’t end many games without scoring. However, their defence is terrifying. Not only have most of them never played together before but Fazio is reckless, Smalling is suicidal on the ball (not many centre-backs in Italy get a chance to play unless they can control and pass the ball, which he can’t do), Kolarov and Zappacosta are great at getting forward but not so great at defending. The only one I really like is Mancini but that’s it. Therefore, AS Roma won’t leave many games without conceding either. In a lot of ways, their season opener against Genoa paved the way for what we should expect from the capital club for the rest of the season i.e. madness.
That approach will suit opponents Sassuolo today, as that’s how they play under De Zerbi too. Put them in a tactical affair and they’re pretty damn useless. Put them in an open game with space and they’ll score a lot of goals. That’s the manager’s style, and the club has invested a lot of money in its attack over the past few years too. In that sense, it pays not to underestimate Sassuolo, who are quite genuinely capable of scoring against any Serie A team, not to mention outplaying them if only for brief periods.
What I like about Sassuolo is that they’re always an exciting team to watch. They make exciting signings too. They’ve still got cult hero Berardi, of course, and rapid winger Boga. Now they’ve added former club legend Defrel to the squad once more, who is a very tricky customer but needs to feel loved, which he hasn’t been ever since he left Sassuolo, which was ironically for their hosts today, AS Roma. In Sassuolo’s green-and-black, I think he can get back to his best and he’s one hell of a dangerous attacking threat. The one that excites me the most is Ivorian midfielder Traore though – what a prospect he is! A real powerhouse in the midfield that is totally unafraid of charging past opponents with the ball. He picks out good passes, and gets into great positions too. A player like that keeps teams in games at all times, and I think he’ll be one hell of a player in the years to come too. All of those options – plus Djurcic – being fed by Locatelli, Bourabia, and Mazzitelli means that Ssasuolo will score goals this season, as per usual.
Defensively speaking, they look quite poor, which is standard. They don’t tend to keep men back, Sassuolo, so they’re always open to counter-attacks, especially when they fall behind. They’ve got some decent names at the back but that’s all they are. The likes of Marlon and Chiriches are nothing without protection, and they won’t get that here so as is rapidly becoming standard for them, it’s going to be all about how many goals Sassuolo themselves score.
Mentally, Sassuolo are stronger than AS Roma, and I think they can get a positive result today because of that. However, I’m nowhere near bold enough to back that as Sassuolo can concede four goals at the drop of a hat. Instead, I’m going to back goals in a game between two teams that are only realistically capable of attacking, and hope that they’ve got their shooting boots on because if so, we’re in for a great game.
Verdict: Over 3 goals at 4/5.
Sunday’s Thoughts
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
Austrian Bundesliga:
Rapid Vienna vs Admira Wacker
SCR Altach vs St. Polten
Wolfsberger AC vs Austria Vienna
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
RSC Anderlecht vs Antwerp
AA Gent vs KV Mechelen
Royal Excel Mouscron vs Kortrijk
Brazilian Serie A:
Atletico Mineiro vs Internacional
Gremio vs Goias
Fluminense vs Corinthians
Bahia vs Fortaleza
Athletico Paranaense vs Avai
Sao Paulo vs CSA
Bulgarian A PFG:
Dunav 2010 vs Slavia Sofia
Levski Sofia vs Cherno More Varna
Croatian Prva Liga:
NK Osijek vs Varazdin
Rijeka vs Hajduk Split
Czech Republic Liga 1:
Karvina vs Bohemians 1905
Zlin vs Sparta Prague
Banik Ostrava vs Ceske Budejovice
Danish Superligaen:
AGF vs Aalborg BK
Esbjerg vs Randers
Lyngby vs FC Midtjylland
Hobro vs FC Copenhagen
Brondby vs FC Nordsjaelland
English Premier League:
Bournemouth vs Everton
Watford vs Arsenal
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Maardu vs Tammeka
Faroese Meistaradeildin:
Vikingur Gotu vs AB
HB Torshavn vs Skala
IF vs EB/Streymur
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
Inter Turku vs IFK Mariehamn
KuPS vs HJK
Ilves vs FC Honka Espoo
French Ligue 1:
Nantes Atlantique vs Stade de Reims
AS Saint-Etienne vs Toulouse
AS Monaco vs Olympique de Marseille
German Bundesliga:
TSG Hoffenheim vs SC Freiburg
Paderborn 07 vs Schalke 04
German Bundesliga 2:
Darmstadt 98 vs Nurnberg
VfL Bochum vs Dynamo Dresden
Erzgebirge Aue vs Osnabruck
Icelandic Pepsideild:
KA vs HK
IA vs UMF Grindavik
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv vs Maccabi Netanya
MS Ashdod vs Hapoel Be’er Sheva
Italian Serie A:
Genoa vs Atalanta Bergamo
Brescia vs Bologna
Parma vs Cagliari
SPAL vs SS Lazio
AS Roma vs Sassuolo
Hellas Verona vs AC Milan
Italian Serie B:
Cosenza vs Pescara
Crotone vs Empoli
Pisa vs Cremonese
Dutch Eredivisie:
PEC Zwolle vs RKC Waalwijk
Feyenoord Rotterdam vs ADO Den Haag
Heracles Almelo vs Willem II
Fortuna Sittard vs Twente Enschede
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Molde FK vs Tromso
Haugesund vs Mjondalen
Bodo/Glimt vs Stabaek
Stromsgodset vs Ranheim
Viking Stavanger vs Odd
Kristiansund vs Brann Bergen
Portuguese Liga 1:
Santa Clara vs Moreirense
Rio Ave vs Tondela
Maritimo Funchal vs Belenenses
Portimonense vs FC Porto
Boavista vs Sporting Clube de Portugal
Portuguese Liga 2:
Academica de Coimbra vs CD Nacional de Madeira
Sporting Covilha vs Leixoes Matosinhos
Penafiel vs Mafra
Casa Pia vs UD Oliveirense
Russian Premier League:
FK Orenburg vs Rubin Kazan
Tambov vs CSKA Moscow
FK Krasnodar vs Krylya Sovetov Samara
Spanish Primera Liga:
Eibar vs RCD Espanyol
Deportivo Alaves vs Sevilla CF
Celta de Vigo vs Granada
Real Valladolid vs CA Osasuna
Real Betis Balompie vs Getafe
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Hammarby vs IFK Goteborg
BK Hacken Goteborg vs AIK Solna
Malmo FF vs IFK Norrkoping
Swiss Schweizer Pokal:
Stade Nyonnais vs FC Thun
Bellinzona vs Neuchatel Xamax
Aarau vs FC Sion
Wohlen vs FC Luzern
Turkish Super Lig:
Ankaragucu vs Yeni Malatyaspor
Rizespor vs Goztepe
Denizlispor vs Konyaspor
Trabzonspor vs Genclerbirligi
Enjoy your free betting tips!