Atalanta vs Sassuolo preview - Pinilla misses out for Atalanta

Atalanta will attempt to win for the first time in nine league games without their leading goalscorer Mauricio Pinilla when they go up against Sassuolo on Sunday.

The Chilean forward, who has scored six Serie A goals, incurred a three-match ban for violent conduct following last weekend's game against Torino.

Pinilla was sent off during his team's 2-1 defeat for kicking rival Migjen Basha in an off-the ball incident.

Atalanta will also be without defenders Nicolo Cherubin and Gianpaolo Bellini, with both sidelined for a month with injuries.

The Bergamaschi are without a win since February 1 and have collected just three points since then.

"I hope we can win against Sassuolo," Atalanta coach Edy Reja told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"We were unlucky to lose against Torino, although we gave away two goals on set-pieces and this is something that we need to correct.

"We are playing well and sooner or later the results will come."

The Bergamaschi have yet to hand Reja his first victory since he replaced Stefano Colantuono last month.

Atalanta are 17th in the standings, four points clear of the drop zone with nine games remaining.

Sassuolo travel to Bergamo looking to take another step towards defending their Serie A status.

The Emilia-Romagna club beat Chievo 1-0 in the last round to climb to 12th place, 13 points above the drop zone.

With 35 points collected so far, two more wins would all but ensure Sassuolo another season in Italy's top flight.

"We handed a great performance against Chievo," Sassuolo coach Eusebio Di Francesco said. "We showed a lot of will and determination.

"I expect a similar display from my players at Atalanta."

Sassuolo have not won on the road since beating AC Milan 2-1 on January 6.

The visitors are without defender Federico Peluso, who must serve a one-match ban. However, they are hoping Croatian defender Sime Vrsaljko, who is doubtful with a muscular injury, recovers.