Separated by just two points in the Serie A standings, Emilian rivals Sassuolo and Bologna meet at the Mapei Stadium on Monday evening.
Both assured of safety but set to come up short in their pursuit of European qualification, the teams have shared 10 goals across their last three encounters - including a 3-0 win for the Rossoblu earlier this season.
Match preview
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Suffering a blow to their hopes of a top-half finish, Sassuolo were beaten 2-0 by Lazio on Wednesday evening, to slip two points adrift of three teams above them in the table, including Bologna.
The Neroverdi's latest setback on the road followed a remarkable home win over Empoli three days earlier, when they fought back from behind with only 10 men to score twice in the last 10 minutes and secure an improbable victory.
Such inconsistency has undermined Alessio Dionisi's hopes of contending for Europe this season - his second in charge at the Mapei Stadium - and only the form of star man Domenico Berardi has helped Sassuolo stay in the mix for a top-10 placing.
It was the Italy international's late intervention as a substitute that turned things around against Empoli, and as a result, Sassuolo have now won four of their last five home matches - the same number as in their previous 14.
Berardi's return to form and fitness means they still have a chance of bettering last year's 11th-placed finish and points total of 50, and having won four of their last seven meetings with Bologna they may feel confident of taking one step closer to that target on Monday.
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Bologna, of course, will have other ideas, as they have scored in all eight of their away games against Sassuolo since their rivals from Reggio Emilia arrived in Italy's top flight - and they were also comfortable winners in this season's reverse fixture.
Back in November, unanswered goals from Michel Aebischer, Marko Arnautovic and Lewis Ferguson earned the Rossoblu victory at Stadio Dall'Ara, and they could now do the double over their Neroverdi counterparts for just the second time in Serie A.
That result came at the start of Thiago Motta's reign at the club, and even a recent downturn has not taken too much shine off what has generally been a positive start to life for the ex-Spezia coach in Emilia-Romagna.
Thursday's loss to a struggling Empoli side was Bologna's second away defeat in three matches - the other came versus relegation-threatened Verona - but at the Dall'Ara they have recently held both Milan and Juventus to 1-1 draws.
They now return to the road in search of a first win anywhere in five games, having slipped to ninth in the Serie A standings with five games to go - including clashes with southern giants Napoli and Roma.
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Alessio Dionisi will again be without first-choice striker Andrea Pinamonti due to suspension on Monday, following a two-match ban for his dismissal last weekend.
As Agustin Alvarez has failed to impress since joining Sassuolo, French forward Gregoire Defrel is set to deputise once again, lining up alongside Domenico Berardi, who recently recovered from his latest injury to bag a brace against Empoli.
The latter is one of only two players, along with Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann, to post more than five goals and five assists in Europe's top five leagues during 2023, having tallied seven Serie A strikes and set up six goals so far this year.
Meanwhile, Nadir Zortea is now also suspended due to accumulated bookings, so the hosts should draft in Jeremy Toljan at right-back.
By contrast, Bologna will have Georgios Kyriakopoulos back from a ban, though Nicola Sansone, Adama Soumaoro and Roberto Soriano are all still sidelined by injury.
Finally recovered from a foot problem, Marko Arnautovic could make an appearance from the bench, but either Joshua Zirkzee or Musa Barrow will start up front for the visitors instead, with Riccardo Orsolini - who has scored four Serie A goals against Sassuolo in the past - featuring on the right flank.
Sassuolo possible starting lineup:
Consigli; Toljan, Ferrari, Ruan, Rogerio; Frattesi, Lopez, Henrique; Berardi, Defrel, Lauriente
Bologna possible starting lineup:
Skorupski; Posch, Bonifazi, Lucumi, Cambiaso; Schouten, Dominguez; Orsolini, Ferguson, Kyriakopoulos; Barrow
We say: Sassuolo 2-1 Bologna
Only Ligue 1 strugglers Troyes have dropped more points from winning positions than Bologna across the top five European leagues this season, so even if they do take the lead at Sassuolo there is no guarantee they can retain it.
In fact, their hosts' home form has been such that it is the Neroverdi who should be favourites to prevail; leapfrogging their rivals in the table as a result.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
