Montella cautious ahead of Sassuolo trip: “It’ll be a tough one in Reggio Emilia”

Sampdoria are looking to take a giant stride towards staying in Serie A, while Sassuolo are bidding for a place in Europe. Here’s Vincenzo Montella’s take on the match.

“It will be a tough game in Reggio Emilia,” began the coach in his pre-match press conference. “Both sides are looking for points: we need them to guarantee survival, while a win for them would give them belief in their pursuit of sixth spot. We face an organised club with a clear footballing philosophy. They’re further along in terms of the team’s development than we are.”

“We are still a little bit gutted from yesterday,” continued the coach in reference to the unfortunate events of the home match against AC Milan. “The lads really played excellently on Sunday. As of today though, it’s all eyes on Sassuolo, I won’t stand for anything less. We have to get points and not waste our energy worrying what other sides are doing.

“I won’t tell you my team, I still have to weigh up a number of factors with three games in quick succession. Cassano isn’t ready yet, we’ll see how he is over the next few days.”