The Sassuolo is the opponent of Rome this Saturday, December 30. The match is part of the nineteenth round of the 2017/2018 Italian Championship season, the last of the first round. In the Olympic stadium, it is scheduled to start at 12 noon (Brasília time).

Rome’s recent performance

The Romans must show a reaction power after losing to Juventus 1-0 at Turin on the previous day. It was the second consecutive loss. A few days earlier, the Romans, at home, took 2 to 1 of Torino and fell in the last 16 of the Italian Cup.
The elimination in the knockout tournament ended up being justified by having the team of the capital used a series of athletes reserves sparing their starters to face the alvinegro of Turin. The defeat in Serie A, however, made the choice of coach Eusebio di Francesco highly questioned.
But this is not even the main point of criticism of the coach. Owner of a fulminante attack in the previous season, the Rome radically changed its style of play. He gave much more value to the defense. Most of the fans and critics did not like this change.
With the previous style, Roma managed the national runners-up having managed to compete in the first position with Juve in much of the competition. Now, it occupies the fourth place with 38 points (12 victories, two draws and three defeats). It has a game less than the top three, but the difference for Napoli, before the start of the 19th round, was seven points.
The situation is not so bad, but the offensive production has prevented the team from approaching the leaders. Roma have scored just 28 goals, much less than Napoli (41), Juventus (45), Lazio (43) and even Internazionale (34), which also uses a more conservative system.
Against Juventus, for example, even though they had conceded the goal just after 18 minutes and had possession of the ball for a long time (57% to 43%), the team created far fewer opportunities to try to finish than the rival (14 to 22). The quality of the kicks, then, was much worse. While the Romans managed to send only two balls in the direction of the opposing arch, the alvinegros hit eight shots.
Thus, it is quite likely that Di Francesco will give up his tactical convictions on Saturday and post the team in a more offensive manner. For this, it has practically all the cast in hand. In the infirmary are only the defenders Rick Karsdorp (a game in the Spanish Championship 2017/2018, without goal) and Luca Pellegrini (without performances); and striker Gregoire Defrel (eight games, no goal).

The current form of Sassuolo

All or nothing has been the style of Sassuolo. In the last ten games, it was five wins and five losses. On Saturday, December 23, at home, the team managed to beat Internazionale 1-0 away from the relegation zone. With 20 points (six wins, two draws and ten losses), it occupies the fourteenth position.
It is not possible to expect much more from the team in front of the resources available for the assembly of the team. The recent improvement in home performance, when he won two wins after seven fasting matches (two draws and five losses) only indicates that the club may attempt to settle in the comfort zone of Serie A.
Against Roma, coach Giuseppe Iachinni depends on the position of the medical department in relation to two athletes to know who he can count on. Defender Claud Adjapong (six matches in the 2017/2018 Italian Championship without a goal) and midfielder Timo Letschert (five games, no goal) are undergoing injury treatment.

History of the matches Rome vs Sassuolo
Sassuolo never managed to defeat Rome. Since taking a spot in Serie A, he faced the capital’s team eight times. There were five Roman successes and three draws.

It is highly unlikely that Roma will go through three consecutive games without success, especially against a modest opponent like Sassuolo. That way, the hunch at the owners of the house is the best option for starting. Presents a price of 1.32 in Rivalo. Draw has a prize of 5.30 and successful visitor multiplies the investment by 9.00.