Sassuolo coach Roberto De Zerbi must cope without several key members ahead of the big game against Napoli, but insists having a team capable of keeping eighth place in Serie A.
A great run after the interruption saw the Neroverdi climb the table and fight for a place in the Europa League next term, but the setback against Milan last time and two draws with Juventus and Cagliari in the last three means De Zerbi's men need a win to have Napoli within reach.
Sassuolo coach Roberto De Zerbi must cope without several key members ahead of the big game against Napoli, but insists having a team capable of keeping eighth place in Serie A.
A great run after the interruption saw the Neroverdi climb the table and fight for a place in the Europa League next term, but the setback against Milan last time and two draws with Juventus and Cagliari in the last three means De Zerbi's men need a win to have Napoli within reach.
He has to prepare for the match against the Partenopei with some of his key members unavailable for the match at the San Paolo, but is optimistic ahead of the run-in.
“We have many players out. [Filippo] Romagna is out for a long time. The list includes [Pedro] Obiang, [Jeremy] Toljan, [Gregoire] Defrel, [Vlad] Chiriches and [Jeremie] Boga.
“They’re all out. But when I look at who’s available, I can say that we will field a very strong side tomorrow.”
De Zerbi doesn’t think Sassuolo can complain too much about the tough fixture and encouraged his men to fight through the tough times.
“All the teams are tired now, even Milan weren’t too bright on Tuesday. Now, we must create a mental and physical strength within ourselves and we, with the targets we have set, must make less effort than the others.
“We must fight the tiredness with the blinders.”
After having seen seventh slip with the 2-1 defeat to Milan, De Zerbi wants his men to regroup and secure eighth in the last three games.
“We could have done more, especially in the first half of the season,” De Zerbi conceded. “Last summer we made many changes and brought in several young foreigners.
“Therefore, it took some time for them to settle. I’m happy with what we did, but we could have done more and that’s why I would like to finish on a high. We must get used to doing things well, living with the wins.
“We must score points in these three games, there are strong teams behind us and they’re alive. The 48 points are not enough for us to finish at eighth. Probably not even three or four more will be enough.”