Separated by one place and three points in the Serie A standings, mid-table pair Sassuolo and Udinese meet at the Mapei Stadium on Saturday.

Having both been beaten by top-three clubs last week, the visitors will attempt to pull level with their hosts by taking the points home to Udine.

Match preview

Ending a month to forget - for the most part, at least - Sassuolo suffered their fourth defeat from five games in April at Stadio Maradona last weekend.

Now undoing much of their positive work in the previous weeks, Alessio Dionisi's side followed a loss to Juventus on Monday night with a humbling reverse at the hands of Napoli, who had clearly been stung by their spectacular failure to stay in the Scudetto race.

Four goals down before the half-hour mark, Sassuolo were torn into by their Neapolitan hosts, and only Maxime Lopez's late consolation reduced their ultimate deficit to five; traipsing down the tunnel at full time with a 6-1 loss.

Not only will Dionisi be concerned that his team were so easily dismantled, but also that they have now gone nine games without a clean sheet since leaving San Siro with a 2-0 win over Inter - one of just three shut-outs recorded by the Emilian outfit all season.

Still sitting comfortably in mid-table, the Neroverdi only have a top-half finish left to fight for before the season ends and some of their attacking stars are inevitably picked off by higher-ranking sides.

One of their chief rivals for the top 10 are this week's opponents, who trail 11th-placed Sassuolo by three points before kick off, so they will look to effectively end the Bianconeri's challenge with just two games then left to play.

Having come from behind to win November's reverse fixture 3-2, even Udinese fans may be surprised to see their team on the brink of surpassing Sassuolo in the standings five months later, given their sluggish start to the campaign.

However, head coach Gabriele Cioffi has slowly built an impressive unit in Udine, with in-form Fiorentina being their most prized scalp during a month which contrasted starkly with that of Saturday's hosts - illustrated by a haul of four wins and 17 goals.

Indeed, the Friulani trailed only Inter in terms of average points per game during April, but on the first day of May, they were undone by the reigning Serie A champions.

The die was cast when Inter took the lead through Ivan Perisic's early header, and though Ignacio Pussetto scored in the 72nd minute, Udinese were beaten 2-1 at the Dacia Arena.

With only four wins from 17 away fixtures so far this term, Cioffi's men are not accustomed to taking maximum points too often on away soil, but if they are to sneak inside the top half before the campaign's conclusion, then they surely need to do so this weekend.

Team News

Though much of Alessio Dionisi's remedial work on the training ground will surely have been focused on defence, following the six-goal hammering by Napoli, Sassuolo also hope that winger Hamed Traore will be back from injury to rejoin their fearsome foursome up front.

If passed fit in time, the Ivorian will feature alongside captain Domenico Berardi and Giacomo Raspadori in the hosts' supply line for centre-forward Gianluca Scamacca, with Berardi - on 13 assists and 14 Serie A strikes this season - needing one more goal to register 15 or more for the fourth time in his career.

As left-back Giorgios Kyriakopoulos returns from suspension, he should replace Rogerio in the back four, while Jeremy Toljan and Abdou Harroui remain on the sidelines due to injury.

Udinese's first-choice striker Beto is still struggling with a hamstring problem so is set to miss out again, which means that Ignacio Pussetto and Isaac Success will once more battle it out to partner Gerard Deulofeu up front.

Indeed, the Friulani may even be unchanged despite defeat last time out, as all of Gabriele Cioffi's squad are otherwise available.

Teenage wing-back Destiny Udogie is certainly favourite to keep his spot on the left flank, having followed back-to-back goals with an assist for Pussetto against Inter.

Sassuolo possible starting lineup:
Consigli; Muldur, Chiriches, Ayhan, Kyriakopoulos; Lopez, Frattesi; Berardi, Raspadori, Djuricic; Scamacca

Udinese possible starting lineup:
Silvestri; Becao, Mari, Perez; Molina, Arslan, Walace, Pereyra, Udogie; Deulofeu, Success

We say: Sassuolo 2-1 Udinese

Even though they have stumbled through the last few weeks, Sassuolo are still dangerous opponents on their day, and with Scamacca, Berardi and company wanting to impress potential suitors, they can lift their game against Udinese.

With an Emilian derby at Bologna to be followed by Milan's visit on the final day, this may be the Neroverdi's best remaining chance to take maximum points, and an entertaining spectacle could ensue against improving opposition.

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