Coppa Italia action resumes this week with Sassuolo hosting Cagliari at the Stadio Città del Tricolore on Wednesday.
Both sides endured defeat in Serie A fixtures over the weekend. Sassuolo were part of a six-goal thriller for the second game in a row but were at the losing end this time around as Verona secured a 4-2 win on Sunday.
Cagliari's winning streak in the league was halted to two games as they suffered a narrow 1-0 loss at Roma, with Sergio Oliviera scoring the only goal of the game. They secured a place in the round of 16 fixture with a 3-1 win over Cittadella last month.
Sassuolo vs Cagliari Head-to-Head
There have been 16 meetings between the two sides across all competitions. The fixture has been closely contested between the two sides with as many as 10 games ending in a draw. Both sides also have three wins apiece.
The last five games in this fixture have ended in stalemates. They last squared off at Wednesday's venue in a Serie A fixture in November. Cagliari came back from behind twice as the game ended in a 2-2 draw.
Sassuolo form guide (Serie A): L-W-D-L-D
Cagliari form guide (Serie A): L-W-W-L-L
Sassuolo vs Cagliari Team News
Sassuolo
Pedro Obiang is a long-term absentee on account of a heart condition. Matheus Henrique, Francesco Magnanelli, Filippo Romagna and Filip Djuricic will miss the game with their respective injuries.
Domenico Berardi, suspended for the league game against Verona, shall return to the starting XI here. Hamed Junior Traorè has been called up to the Ivory Coast squad for the ongoing AFCON tournament and remains unavailable.
Injured: Matheus Henrique, Filip Djuricic, Pedro Obiang
Doubtful: Francesco Magnanelli, Filippo Romagna, Jeremie Boga
Unavailable (International Duty - AFCON): Hamed Junior Traore,
Suspended: None
Cagliari
Gli Isolani were missing 11 players in their 1-0 loss to Roma but a few players are expected to return here. Marko Rog, Kevin Strootman, Sebastian Walukiewicz and Damir Ceter have been ruled out with injuries while Alberto Grassi, Matteo Lovato, Simone Aresti, Christian Oliva and Raoul Bellanova have tested positive for COVID-19.
Keita Baldé is currently with the Senegal national team at the ongoing AFCON tournament and remains unavailable.
Injured: Sebastian Walukiewicz, Kevin Strootman, Damir Ceter
Doubtful: Marko Rog, Luca Ceppitelli
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Keita Balde (International duty - AFCON), Alberto Grassi, Matteo Lovato, Simone Aresti, Christian Oliva, Raoul Bellanova (All due to COVID-19)
Sassuolo vs Cagliari Predicted XI
Sassuolo Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Andrea Consigli; Jeremy Toljan, Vlad Chiriches, Gian Marco Ferrari, Rogerio; Maxime Lopez, Davide Frattesi; Giacomo Raspadori, Domenico Berardi, Grégoire Defrel; Gianluca Scamacca
Cagliari Predicted XI (3-5-2): Alessio Cragno; Giorgio Altare, Edoardo Goldaniga, Andrea Carboni; Gabriele Zappa, Razvan Marin, Nahitan Nández, Alessandro Deiola, Charalampos Lykogiannis; Leonardo Pavoletti, Gaston Pereiro
Sassuolo vs Cagliari Prediction
Sassuolo have not scored in just one of their last 15 games, so they are expected to find the back of the net here. They have three wins in their home fixtures this season while Cagliari have just one win in their travels.
The visitors have failed to score in four of their last five away games so they might struggle in the final third. A win for I Neroverdi looks like the most likely outcome here.
Prediction: Sassuolo 3-1 Cagliari.