Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Serie A match.
Sassuolo return to Serie A after a year of restructuring in Serie B, but their opener could hardly be tougher: a clash with reigning champions Napoli.
Sassuolo
Pre-season started brightly, with routine wins over Real Vicenza (5:0) and Trento (3:0), but problems emerged against stronger opposition — goalless with Empoli (0:0) and a 1:1 draw with Brest. Their attack lacked the sharpness to trouble top-level defences. In the Coppa Italia first round, Sassuolo needed Domenico Berardi’s class to edge past lower-league opposition: the long-time captain assisted Josh Doig’s winner, while Daniel Boloca and Armand Laurienté went missing.
Napoli
Napoli, by contrast, found rhythm in their final warm-ups, beating Girona (3:2), Sorrento (4:0) and Olympiacos (2:1). Antonio Conte’s plans have been complicated by Romelu Lukaku’s injury, particularly as Giacomo Raspadori had already been moved on, leaving the champions scrambling for another striker. Even so, Napoli’s quality across the squad makes them firm favourites here.
Sassuolo vs Napoli Prediction
Since April 2022, Napoli have beaten Sassuolo five times in a row, with heavy scorelines along the way (6:1, 4:0, 2:0, 2:0, 6:1). They, even without Romelu Lukaku, should still have enough firepower and class to secure all three points.
