Eusebio Di Francesco hopes to upset Milan again, as “no doubt Sassuolo do better against the big teams.”
It kicks off at 14.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
The Neroverdi tactician was rumoured last summer to be in competition with current Rossoneri Coach Sinisa Mihajlovic for the Diavolo bench, but he seems to be doing just fine where he is.
Eusebio Di Francesco hopes to upset Milan again, as “no doubt Sassuolo do better against the big teams.”
It kicks off at 14.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
The Neroverdi tactician was rumoured last summer to be in competition with current Rossoneri Coach Sinisa Mihajlovic for the Diavolo bench, but he seems to be doing just fine where he is.
Sassuolo are currently leading Milan by five points in the standings, plus they’ve won three out of four Serie A encounters, home and away.
“No doubt we do better against the big teams, the results and the performances prove that,” Di Francesco told the Press.
“It means that we're doing well in preparing certain games, but the pitch is always the one that decides. But I liked the lads this week.
“Mihajlovic is charismatic and has character, I hope things work out for him, but starting from the game after the next.”
Simone Missiroli is gaining prominence in the Neroverdi squad, scoring the decisive goal against Lazio last week.
“It's a matter of mental approach and bringing a new rhythm to the changing room. He understood that to take things to the next level you've got to train at a certain level of intensity.
“I don't look at Milan very much, I look at my own players. They have a squad composed of important players who are used to big games.
“The same cannot quite be said of ourselves, but I want Sassuolo to have the right attitude. That said, the result doesn't always match the performance.
“Milan's player to watch? I'm going to say [Giacomo] Bonaventura, for me he's the Italian footballer who's developing the most.
“He has character and there have been occasions in which he took his team upon his back, which is a good sign for our football. Personally I like him very much.
“And I'll add [Carlos] Bacca, if he does end up playing. He's very strong, particularly in the final distance.
“I have 24 footballers plus the goalies at my calling. [Leonardo] Fontanesi went to play with the youth team, not because he wasn't doing well, but because there are many of us.
“It's difficult to choose but I'm glad I have this problem. I have it because everybody trained in a certain way, and they must keep doing that because they'll all get their chance, as we saw last Sunday.
“I'll field the best possible formation. Of course our minds do go ahead to Wednesday and to the next game [against Juventus], and we do think about it a bit.”
Sassuolo squad for Milan: Pomini, Consigli, Pegolo; Longhi, Vrsaljko, Peluso, Acerbi, Ariaudo, Gazzola, Terranova, Cannavaro; Magnanelli, Pellegrini, Missiroli, Biondini, Laribi, Duncan; Falcinelli, Politano, Sansone, Berardi, Floro Flores, Defrel, Floccari