Sassuolo vs Sampdoria preview - Goals required for Sassuolo

Sassuolo beat Sampdoria in a seven-goal thriller only five months ago but the goals have all dried up for Eusebio Di Francesco's relegation-threatened side.

The Neroverde slipped back into Serie A's bottom three following Sunday's 1-0 defeat at Udinese - the sixth game from the past 10 in which Sassuolo have failed to score - and safety is once again three points away.

But the man who fired a hat-trick in the famous 4-3 victory at the Marassi, Domenico Berardi, is back from suspension when the sides reunite in Reggio Emilia on Wednesday night and coach Di Francesco is expecting big things.

When quizzed about Sassuolo's recent goal drought he told tuttomercatoweb.com: "We must improve in that respect as it's been a constant problem throughout our season.

"We must forget about the Udinese game when we meet Sampdoria.

"Berardi is important for Sassuolo, but all the strikers are fundamental to the team."

Eleventh-placed Samp arrive at the Stadio Citta del Tricolore on the back of a resounding 5-0 victory over Hellas Verona and Blucerchiati boss Sinisa Mihajlovic is now targeting a top-half finish.

Di Francesco is all too aware of the Serb's ambition and will be suitably wary with his match preparation.

"I want to compliment Sinisa for the mentality he's instilled in his team," he added.

"They never give up and they'll come here to get a result, we cannot expect any kind of gift from them.

"This is a really important match and getting the three points will be key to our campaign.

"Nothing can be taken for granted in football so it's better to stress about things than be carefree."

Samp are missing defender Matias Rodriguez and midfielders Nenad Krsticic and Alessio Sestu through injury while Sassuolo's club doctor is arguably the busiest in the division at the moment.

Francesco Acerbi, Matteo Brighi, Luca Antei, Thomas Manfredini, Luca Marrone, Nicola Sansone, Antonio Floro Flores, Marius Alexe and Raffaele Pucino are all sidelined, leaving Di Francesco with a real selection headache.