Separated by four points and two places in the Serie A standings, Emilian rivals Bologna and Sassuolo convene at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara on Sunday afternoon.

In the pair's penultimate match of the season, the Rossoblu will seek victory to pull within a point of their 11th-placed visitors, after they fell to a 4-3 defeat against the league's bottom side last weekend.

Match preview

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Before travelling to Venice last week, Bologna had gone unbeaten in six Serie A games to retain hope of finishing inside the top half of the table later this month. However, a painful finale at Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo saw them return to base empty-handed.

Leading 3-2 heading into the final 15 minutes of an eventful encounter with Venezia - having fought back from two goals down - the Emilian side were pegged back by Mattia Aramu's 78th-minute penalty, before conceding deep into stoppage time to squander a point.

Such a result against the rock-bottom Lagunari was all the more unexpected, as Bologna had boasted the division's third-tightest defence since the turn of the year and had hardly been prolific themselves.

That anomaly aside, Sinisa Mihajlovic's side have held Milan, Roma and Juventus to draws in recent weeks, and of course, shocked Scudetto hopefuls Inter with a 2-1 win last time out at Dall'Ara.

Therefore, the Rossoblu will remain confident of completing the double over their near neighbours this weekend, having enjoyed a 3-0 away victory in December's reverse fixture. Doing so for only the second time in Serie A would haul them within just one point of their rivals ahead of a final-day trip to lowly Genoa.

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Still in the mix for a top 10 place this term, Sassuolo have actually won on both of their last two trips to Bologna, having only managed to do so once in their previous five.

The Neroverdi, however, are seemingly stumbling towards the finish line, and have picked up just one point from their last four league games following a 1-1 draw at Udinese last Saturday.

In-demand forward Gianluca Scamacca saw his early strike equalised by the home side late in the second half, but Sassuolo at least halted a three-game run of defeats in which the aggregate score against them stood at 9-2.

They last went winless in five straight Serie A matches over a year ago, so Alessio Dionisi's men will now aim to snap that streak at the home of their Emilian counterparts.

Before they head to Dall'Ara, only Milan (38) have scored more goals than Sassuolo's 34 away from home this season - already their best tally on the road in a single top-flight season - so a front line powered by Scamacca, and international teammates Giacomo Raspadori and Domenico Berardi should certainly pose Bologna some problems.

Team News

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Back at the helm following a stay in hospital undergoing treatment for leukaemia, Bologna boss Sinisa Mihajlovic should have a fully fit squad to choose from on Sunday.

Current incumbent Musa Barrow will therefore fight it out with Riccardo Orsolini and Nicola Sansone to support top scorer Marko Arnautovic again, at the tip of the hosts' 3-5-2 formation.

The latter has scored 14 times in Serie A this season following his strike against Venezia last week; setting a new personal goals record for a single campaign.

Sassuolo, meanwhile, will be without left-back Giorgos Kyriakopoulos due to suspension, but have winger Hamed Traore back from injury to start in their fearsome foursome up front.

The Ivory Coast international should return alongside captain Domenico Berardi and Giacomo Raspadori in the hosts' supply line for centre-forward Gianluca Scamacca, with midfielder Matheus Henrique dropping out of the starting XI and Filip Djuricic providing another attacking option from the bench.

Berardi has had a hand in 27 goals (14 of his own and 13 assists) in the league this season, only Francesco Caputo two years ago (28) has fared better in a single Serie A season for Sassuolo.

Bologna possible starting lineup:
Skorupski; Soumaoro, Medel, Theate; De Silvestri, Dominguez, Schouten, Soriano, Hickey; Barrow, Arnautovic

Sassuolo possible starting lineup:
Consigli; Muldur, Ayhan, Ferrari, Rogerio; Lopez, Frattesi; Berardi, Raspadori, Traore; Scamacca

We say: Bologna 1-2 Sassuolo

Sassuolo are still dangerous opponents on their day, despite recent results to the contrary, and the impetus of a local rivalry should help to inspire them to a first win in five matches.

Not only that, but the Neroverdi rank as high as eighth in terms of their Serie A away record this term, while last week's events demonstrate that an improving Bologna can still be caught out defensively.

Written by
Jonathan O'Shea

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