Barring a collapse of AC Milan-in-Istanbul proportions, Sassuolo will be playing Serie A football again next season.

The Neroverdi are blitzing their way through Serie B this season, winning game after game and hardly putting a foot wrong.

Last weekend, Fabio Grosso’s side vanquished Pippo Inzaghi’s Pisa in a critical match at the top of the table. The goal, thanks to Luca Moro, has all but assured a return to the top flight for the side from Reggio Emilia.

Grosso’s men now sit a mammoth 14 points clear of third-placed Spezia, and eight clear of Pisa in second. Those two play each other on Sunday, presenting Sassuolo with a chance to strengthen their promotion credentials even further.

Even taking into consideration a mini stumble between now and the end of the season, the chances of Sassuolo not gaining automatic promotion are remarkably slim.

Next up is another home fixture, this time against Moreno Longo’s inconsistent Bari at the Mapei Stadium.

The Puglia side drew – because of course they did – against Sampdoria last weekend. Only Catanzaro have drawn more games in Serie B than Longo’s side this season, and it’s their failure to convert draws into wins that sees them hovering just outside the promotion play-off places, rather than firmly in the mix.

Sassuolo, who have no such issues when it comes to winning matches, have been on a tremendous run as of late.

Since the turn of the year, they’ve won six of the last eight, which is nearly the sum total of all games Bari have won all season, and Grosso’s side are head and shoulders above every other side in the division.

Domenico Berardi is still the standout player for the Neroverdi, but the goals have come from everywhere this season. Armand Lauriente is slugging it out with Francesco Pio Esposito (Spezia) and Pietro Iemmello (Catanzaro) for the Pablito, while Samuele Mulattieri and Nicholas Pierini both have nine goals apiece.

Berardi has become more of a giver this season, producing assist after assist for his more-mobile teammates. The Euro 2020 winner currently has 12 from just 20 games after working his way back from injury, an astonishing record.

Grosso should have a full strength team to pick from. His only doubt will likely be who plays in attack in his 4-2-3-1 system. Moro, Mulattieri and Pierini could all challenge for the spot in leading the line.

Bari, however, don’t have the same riches available to them. Longo’s side managed a 1-1 draw against Sassuolo at the Stadio San Nicola in the early weeks of the season, and the former Como coach would take a similar result this weekend.

Yet Longo has a full team to choose from, with no injury issues. The southern side have recieved a massive boost with the returns of Andrea Oliveri and captain Francesco Vicari, both of whom have been on the shelf in recent weeks.

Bari are unbeaten in their last three, but with Palermo and Cesena gaining ground in recent weeks, the Biancorossi have fallen outside the play-off places. 

Therefore a win is needed to bring the club back into promotion contention. Yet whether they could pull off a win against a rampaging Sassuolo remains to be seen. The chances are slim.

Yet should they get another draw, then on this occasion Longo wouldn’t argue too much, one suspects.

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