Ahead of Udinese's visit to Mapei Stadium on Saturday, Gabriele Cioffi spoke to Udinese TV and stressed the team's desire to finish as high up the table as possible.
How do you expect your players to respond after last week's defeat to Inter?
“Obviously we're disappointed but it's an opportunity for us to look at how we can improve. Now we have a very tough game. Sassuolo will be determined to bounce back after a bad defeat but we'll be ready for them.”
In recent years Sassuolo have struggled against Udinese. How do you expect the game to pan out tactically?
“What's past is past. This is a different Udinese to the team of the last three-four years. Sassuolo are a different team too. They had a spell with a coach, [Roberto] De Zerbi, whose philosophy is similar to [Alessio] Dionisi's but Dionisi's philosophy is based on his own ideas. They're similar but different, just as Udinese are similar but different. Both teams will want to win, for different reasons.”
Since April Udinese have scored more goals than any other Serie A side while only Atalanta have let in more than Sassuolo's 12. Do you think this could be a high-scoring game?
"We want to pick up as many points as possible in our last three games, starting with Sassuolo. Whether it's one point or three, you need balance. You can't focus on just one aspect, no matter how positive it is. If you want to win games, you need balance.”