Preview:Sassuolo vs. Napoli

Maurizio Sarri will take his Napoli side to the Mapei Stadium to face Sassuolo in their opening match of the new Serie A season, which will be his first league game in charge of the club.

Both sides have been busy over the summer, with Napoli changing managers and this weekend's hosts taking an active role in the transfer market in preparation for the new term.

Sassuolo

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Sassuolo are preparing for their third straight season in the Italian top flight, having secured promotion from Serie B in the 2012-13 campaign.

Eusebio di Francesco, who has been in charge of the side for their entire stay in Serie A, led the team to a 12th-place finish in the division last season, missing out on a spot in the top half of the table by just three points.

A number of players have come and gone at the club over the summer, with 2014-15 top scorer Simone Zaza among the players departing. The 24-year-old netted 12 goals last season, but has moved on to champions Juventus.

Domenico Berardi, who spent the summer in action with the Italy Under-21s in the European Under-21 Championship, had also been linked with a move away from the club, but he remains at the Neroverdi for the time being.

This weekend's hosts will be hoping that French striker Gregoire Defrel will fill the void left by Zaza's departure. The forward joins the club from Cesena for a fee reportedly in the region of £7m.

Sassuolo will be keen to continue where they left off in Serie A last season, having finished the previous campaign with four straight wins in the Italian top flight.

Recent form: LDWWWW Recent form (all competitions): WWWWDW

Napoli

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It has been a summer of change for Napoli, with coach Rafael Benitez moving on after two seasons with the club to join Real Madrid, resulting in the appointment of Sarri, who has spent the last three years with Empoli.

The Italian has brought a couple of players with him from his former club, signing defender Elseid Hysaj and midfielder Mirko Valdifiori from his old side, while also completing deals with Bayern Munich for Pepe Reina and Tottenham Hotspur for Vlad Chiriches.

Many had expected Gonzalo Higuain, who has been the club's top scorer for the last two seasons, to move on this summer, with rumours of interest from a number of Premier League sides. However, the Argentine, who scored 29 goals last season, remains at the head coach's disposal.

The club will be hoping that Sarri can guide the team back to a spot in the Champions League, after a fifth-place finish saw the side miss out on qualification for Europe's top club competition this season.

Possibly the highlight of the 2014-15 campaign came in the Supercoppa Italiana, in which Napoli defeated Juventus on a penalty shootout, having lost in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia and Europa League.

It has been a quiet pre-season for the team, with matches against Nice and Porto, neither of which resulted in a win for Sarri. The head coach knows that he has a tricky start to the league campaign too, with a trip to his former side after the international break, followed by the visit of Lazio and Juventus during September.

Recent form: LWDWLL Recent form (all competitions): LWLLLD

Team News

Faouzi Ghoulam will not be available for the first match of the new campaign for the visitors as he carries over a suspension from last season.

Otherwise, Sarri will have his full squad available for his first match in charge of the side.

Luca Antei remains sidelined for Sassuolo after sustaining a cruciate knee ligament injury in February, which ruled him out for the remainder of last season.

Defrel is likely to start alongside Berardi up front, with Nicola Sansone in line to support the attacking duo.

Sassuolo possible starting lineup: Pomini, Longhi, Magnanelli, Peluso, Fontanesi, Biondini, Laribi, Pellegrini, Sansone, Berardi, Defrel

Napoli possible starting lineup: Reina, Hysaj, Maggio, Chiriches, Albiol, Allan, Hamsik, Lopez, Callejon, Higuain, Mertens

Head To Head

This will be just the fifth meeting between these two sides, with the teams having never met prior to Sassuolo's promotion in 2013.

Napoli have won the last three matches between the two clubs, with the only other meeting resulting in a 1-1 draw.

Their last meeting was in February, with Napoli picking up a 2-0 win, despite finishing the match with only 10 men on the pitch after Dries Mertens was sent off.

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We say: Sassuolo 1-2 Napoli

Both sides will be looking to finish higher than they did last season, so will want to make a strong start to the campaign. However, Napoli have a much stronger squad and have never lost to Sassuolo, so should have enough to pick up the three points.