Last Updated on April 15, 2026 8:31 pm by ZUWP Automation
Four straight 0-1 defeats have left Sassuolo on the edge. Como arrive at the Mapei Stadium having just beaten Inter.
Sassuolo have lost their last four matches by the same scoreline: 0-1. Four times, one goal, nothing in return. Whatever is happening inside this club, it is producing a kind of paralysis — narrow, airless defeats that suggest a side unable to find a way through and increasingly unable to hold the line. Into that fragility comes a Como side who, last Saturday, beat Inter Milan.
Match Details
- Fixture: Sassuolo vs Como
- Venue: MAPEI Stadium – Città del Tricolore
- Date: 17 April 2026
- Competition: Serie A 2025/26
The Form Picture
Sassuolo’s recent run is not just poor — it is historically consistent in its misery. A draw at Lazio on 9 March was the last point they collected. Since then: a home defeat to Bologna, a loss at Juventus, a home defeat to Cagliari, and finally a loss at Genoa last weekend. The summary reads 0 wins, 1 draw, 4 losses from their last five. They are not being hammered. They are being edged out, one goal at a time, which in some ways is harder to fix.
Como’s trajectory runs in the opposite direction entirely. Three wins, one draw, one defeat in their last five. The defeat came at home to Roma on 15 March. Everything since has been accumulation: a 1-0 win at Cagliari, a 2-0 home win over Pisa, a goalless draw at Udinese, and then the result that changes the context of this fixture completely: a 2-1 home victory over Inter on 12 April. That is not a side drifting through the final weeks of a season. That is a side with momentum and belief.
Key Players to Watch
The most compelling individual story in this fixture belongs to Como’s Nico Paz. The midfielder has 9 goals and 6 assists across 28 appearances this season, with 100 shots taken and an average of 3.6 per match. His average rating of 7.48 is among the best in Serie A, and his 41 key passes and 10 big chances created make him the creative engine around which Como’s best football is built. He also leads the league in tackles for Como, with 67 — ranking 4th in Serie A — which tells you this is not a player who disappears when his side doesn’t have the ball. He is everywhere.
Sassuolo’s most credible attacking threat is Domenico Berardi, who has 7 goals and 3 assists in 19 appearances with a rating of 7.23. The concern is those 19 appearances — availability has clearly been an issue — and his side’s current inability to score means he is operating in a system that is generating almost nothing in front of goal. Armand Laurienté has been the more consistent creative presence, with 5 goals, 7 assists, and 11 big chances created across 29 matches, ranking 5th in Serie A for assists and 12th for big chances created. If Sassuolo are to find a way through, it will likely run through Laurienté’s movement and delivery.
For Como, Anastasios Douvikas has 10 goals in 29 appearances, ranking 4th in Serie A for goals scored. He averages 1.7 shots per match with 22 on target from 48 total — a conversion rate that reflects genuine clinical quality in the box. Against a Sassuolo defence that has conceded a goal in every single one of their last five matches, that record carries real weight.
In midfield, Como’s Máximo Perrone and Lucas Da Cunha provide the engine room. Perrone has 1,640 passes completed, 41 tackles won, and 28 key passes. Da Cunha, meanwhile, has created 7 big chances from 29 appearances, the highest on the Como side after Paz. Sassuolo’s Nemanja Matic sits at the base of their midfield with 1,402 passes and 39 tackles, but his side’s inability to score suggests the ball is not being moved forward with anything like the same threat.
Season Stats Comparison
The individual rankings tell a story of two clubs at very different points in their seasons. Como’s Douvikas ranks 4th in Serie A for goals; Sassuolo’s Berardi is 31st. Paz ranks 4th for tackles and 10th for assists; Laurienté’s 5th-place assist ranking is Sassuolo’s strongest individual return. The gap in creative output — Paz with 10 big chances created, Laurienté with 11 — is actually close, but the difference in goals scored from the two sides’ forwards is stark.
| Stat | Sassuolo | Como |
|---|---|---|
| Top Scorer | Berardi – 7 goals (31st in Serie A) | Douvikas – 10 goals (4th in Serie A) |
| Top Assister | Laurienté – 7 assists (5th in Serie A) | Nico Paz – 6 assists (10th in Serie A) |
| Top Chance Creator | Laurienté – 11 big chances created (12th) | Nico Paz – 10 big chances created (21st) |
| Top Tackler | Matic – 39 tackles (101st) | Nico Paz – 67 tackles (4th) |
| Top Passer | Matic – 1,402 passes (29th) | Jacobo Ramón – 1,763 passes (3rd) |
| Top Goalkeeper (saves) | N/A | Jean Butez – 73 saves (15th) |
Jean Butez’s 73 saves across 29 matches for Como is a detail worth pausing on. A goalkeeper making that volume of saves is one who has been tested heavily all season — but also one who has kept his side in matches when they needed it. Against a Sassuolo side that is struggling to score, Butez’s experience under pressure could prove decisive.
Head to Head
There is only one previous meeting between these sides to reference, and it went Como’s way. On 28 November 2025, Como won 1-0 at home against Sassuolo. The reverse fixture arrives with the visitor in considerably better form than the host, and with the psychological edge of already having come out on top in the only meeting on record.
Closing Paragraph
Sassuolo have been losing 1-0 for a month. The goals are not coming, the confidence has visibly drained, and now they face a Como side who have just beaten Inter and who possess in Nico Paz one of the most complete midfielders in the division. The Mapei Stadium has seen better days than this. The question this match will answer is a simple and brutal one: can Sassuolo find a goal — any goal — before Como find theirs?
