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Sassuolo welcome Cittadella to Mapei Stadium for a Coppa Italia first-round tie on Friday. The hosts are coming into the game on the back of a 2-2 draw against Monza in a friendly last weekend.
They were 2-1 down at the break, with Armand Lauriente and Nedim Bajrami scoring either side of Pablo Mari. Mirko Maric stepped off the bench to draw the game level in the 68th minute.
Cittadella, meanwhile, claimed a 1-0 victory over Bassano in a friendly. Enrico Baldini scored the match-winner in the 31st minute.
The Maroons were last in competitive action when they suffered a 3-0 defeat to Cremonese in their final game of Serie B to end the season in 14th spot. Sassuolo played out a 1-1 draw away to Lazio and were relegated from Serie A.
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The winner of this tie will face either Lecce or Mantova in the second round of the cup next month.
Sassuolo vs Cittadella Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two sides have five wins apiece in 17 head-to-head games while seven games ended in draws.
- This will be their first meeting in a decade. Their last clash came in August 2014 when Sassuolo claimed a 4-1 home win at this same stage of the Coppa Italia.
- Cittadella have won just one of their last 18 games across competitions (10 losses).
- Sassuolo have won just one of their last 10 competitive games. (five wins).
- Nine of the last 10 head-to-head games have produced less than three goals.
Sassuolo vs Cittadella Prediction
Sassuolo saw their 11-year stay in Serie A come to an end last season. Remarkably, the first of those was the Neroverdi's first-ever in the top flight, highlighting the progress they made over the last decade. They will start life back in the second division as favorites to go up at the first time of asking and their upcoming opponents will give them an idea of what to expect in Serie B.
Cittadella ended last season on a poor run of form. However, they were impressive during pre-season where they won four of five games. Their fans will be hoping they carry this form over into the season.
We are backing Sassuolo to claim a routine victory and clean sheet.
Prediction: Sassuolo 2-0 Cittadella
Sassuolo vs Cittadella Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Sassuolo to win
Tip 2 - Both teams to score: No
Tip 3 - Under 2.5 goals
