The footballing gods have struck gold with their fixture scheduling in Italy this weekend. Not only are first and second in Serie A tussling it out on the bay of Naples – Serie B’s top two are at it too.

Sassuolo welcome Pisa on Saturday evening with everyone but the Neroverdi ready to acknowledge that their immediate return to the top flight is all but confirmed. Twelve points clear of third with just 11 games remaining is a handsome advantage that Fabio Grosso’s men won’t let slip – even if the head coach isn’t willing to admit it himself just yet.

However, the gap to Filippo Inzaghi’s men in second is a little less roomy. That five points could become just two if things don’t go to plan for the hosts at the Mapei Stadium, and a title race could very much be on.

It certainly will be if Pisa can reproduce the kind of performance they delivered in the reverse fixture. The Nerazzurri stunned the league leaders on Boxing Day at the Arena Garibaldi, winning 3-1. And while that defeat did spark a run of six wins in eight for Grosso’s men, a loss at third-placed Spezia has the former World Cup winner defending his side’s ability to perform in the biggest matches.

“We know that this has happened,” Grosso said ahead of Saturday’s clash. “We have won many others, because the numbers speak for themselves. But we want to reverse this trend and we will try to do it tomorrow.”

They will attempt to do so with their home advantage blunted, too. Up to 6,000 Pisa supporters are expected to make the journey to Reggio Emilia for the game. The club sold out the original 4,000 visiting allocation, before the decision was taken to allow more away supporters to buy tickets in the East Stand. The call has been much to the dismay of home fans, who questioned the logic of welcoming such a sizeable away following for a pivotal fixture.

Kristian Thorstvedt and Laurs Skjellerup are the only absentees for Sassuolo, who can call on a host of talent more suited to the first tier, including the likes of Domenico Berardi, Josh Doig and Armand Lauriente – whose representatives have been making noises about his readiness for the big leagues.

The question that remains is whether Pisa will be joining Lauriente and Co at Italy’s top table next season. Inzaghi has suggested that if it were based on his team’s following, they’d have the three points sewn up already.

Two of his side’s supporters might be a little distracted however. While Filippo’s men are battling it out with Sassuolo, his brother Simone will be leading his own band of Nerazzurri into the cauldron of the Diego Maradona Stadium. It will be a long night for mamma and papa.

“Our parents suffer more at home,” said the Pisa head coach. “We will play almost at the same time, but we hope to both get positive results.”

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