Sassuolo vs Cesena

"The Coppa Italia First Round serves as an intriguing curtain-raiser for the 2026/27 campaign as Serie A outfit Sassuolo host Serie B contenders Cesena at the Mapei Stadium. This Emilian derby carries significant emotional and tactical weight, especially given the managerial changes over the summer. Sassuolo, having comfortably navigated their return to the top flight last term to finish 11th, parted ways with Fabio Grosso—who departed for Fiorentina—and appointed former Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani. On the other hand, Cesena enter the new season with high ambitions in the second tier under the guidance of former West Ham icon Alessandro Diamanti, who is conducting a major squad rebuild. Tactically, Aquilani is trying to implement an expansive 4-3-3 possession-based system at Sassuolo, but the transition has been far from smooth during the pre-season. The Neroverdi's warm-up fixtures revealed gaping defensive vulnerabilities, notably conceding four goals against Celta Vigo (1-4) and three against Augsburg (2-3). The departure of central defender Tarik Mukharemovic has left a void in their defensive spine that has yet to be fully addressed. Conversely, Diamanti’s Cesena have looked remarkably disciplined. Playing in a compact 3-4-2-1 structure, the Bianconeri went undefeated in their five pre-season friendlies without conceding a single goal, showing immense defensive resilience. However, those matches were primarily against lower-league opposition, and a trip to Reggio Emilia presents a vastly different caliber of challenge. Historically, Sassuolo have dominated this head-to-head matchup, winning six of the last nine meetings, including a league double during their 2024/25 Serie B promotion campaign. While Cesena’s pre-season underlying data suggests they are difficult to break down, Sassuolo's superior technical quality and higher xG generation capacity (averaging an xG of 1.82 in domestic home fixtures) should ultimately prove decisive. The midfield battle will be crucial; Sassuolo's ability to recycle possession quickly will test Cesena’s low block. While the visitors are likely to snatch a goal on the counter-attack due to Sassuolo’s early-season defensive disorganization under Aquilani, the home side's Serie A class and squad depth should see them secure a narrow 2-1 victory to progress to the next round."