Fiorentina vs Sampdoria

Fiorentina and Sampdoria are set to square off at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in a handsomely-looking Coppa Italia last-16 match-up.

Fiorentina eked out a last-gasp 2-1 Serie A home victory over Sassuolo at the weekend to halt an underwhelming two-game winless league run (D1, L1) and slightly boost their hopes of securing European football for next season. However, ‘La Viola’ sit a whopping eight points adrift of sixth-placed Atalanta, highlighting the importance of this fixture. Lifting the Coppa Italia trophy for the first time since 2000/01 would give Vincenzo Italiano’s side an alternative way into next term’s European competitions. Despite Sampdoria’s thoroughly awful top-flight season, Fiorentina cannot take anything for granted in this contest, considering they’ve alternated between winning (3) and not winning (D1, L2) across their last six competitive H2Hs on home turf.

On the other hand, Sampdoria succumbed to a comfortable 2-0 home defeat to Serie A pacesetters Napoli last time out, failing to build on a morale-boosting 2-1 win at Sassuolo in their inaugural top-flight fixture in 2023. Stuck in the relegation zone, six points below safety, ‘La Samp’ must give their fans something to cheer for in these tumultuous times, so the upcoming Coppa Italia assignment may come as a welcoming distraction. But Dejan Stankovic’s men lost their only previous Coppa Italia clash against Fiorentina in the 21st century, going down 3-2 at this venue in December 2017. On a more positive note, the visitors have claimed two victories on their last four domestic travels (L2), suggesting they are unlikely to roll over and let their hosts sail into the next round.