Sassuolo v Udinese preview | OneFootball

Bijol set to make 50th club appearance

Sassuolo and Udinese will face each other for the 22nd time in Serie A on Easter Monday. Udinese’s record against the Neroverdi stands at eight wins, nine draws and four defeats, the last of which came in 2018. Since then Udinese have claimed eight victories and drawn six times, which makes this fixture Udinese’s longest unbeaten streak in the league (11 games). In this fixture Sassuolo have won only one of the last ten matches at home, never managing to score more than one goal (six times one goal, four times no goals) and were beaten in the most recent encounter on 11 September 2022. The scoreline finished 3-1 to the visitors with Beto at the double and a strike by Lazar Samardzic, coming from behind after Davide Frattesi had given Sassuolo the lead.

Udinese have picked up all three points in two of their three most recent away games and are looking for a second consecutive away win. The club haven’t managed to pull this off since 2022, when they managed this feat against Sassuolo. Despite the host’s lowly league position, they are a dangerous side, especially early on in matches – they have scored eight times in the first 15 minutes, a record only bettered by league leaders Inter. On the flip side, this has led to Sassuolo dropping more points than almost any other Serie A team from a winning position (22, the same as Frosinone). The Zebrette also dropped many points (19) after taking the lead, but they are the team which have scored the highest percentage of goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half (nine out of a total of 28, 32%).

Roberto Pereyra has a great track record against the Neroverdi, scoring twice and providing five assists, including a goal and an assist in the fixture from earlier in the campaign. This is the Argentine’s best haul against any Serie A side. Jaka Bijol also has a curious record against Sassuolo. In the only match in which he has featured against Monday’s opponents, the Slovenian defender scored a goal and provided an assist, and his next appearance against Sassuolo will potentially be his 50th for Udinese. Meanwhile, team-mate Nehuen Perez made his Serie A debut against the Emilians. The Argentine is Udinese’s best player in this Serie A season in terms the highest number of tackles (56), defensive clearances (121), blocked shots (17) and intercepted balls (36, the same as Walace).