Sampdoria vs Napoli

Sampdoria and Napoli are set to trade tackles at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in an exciting Serie A fixture.

After a sluggish start to the season that had seen them draw a blank in their inaugural two Serie A matches (D1, L1), Sampdoria have started to show signs of improvement. A hard-fought 2-2 home draw with reigning champions Inter Milan followed up by an overwhelming 3-0 victory over promoted Empoli sets ‘La Samp’ up nicely for this showdown. The Genoa-based outfit now face formidable opposition in the shape of a Napoli side they’ve lost to in all five previous top-flight H2Hs, worryingly conceding 2+ goals on each occasion. A 2-0 defeat in this exact fixture back last season puts Sampdoria in an awkward position ahead of this meeting as they risk drawing a blank in back-to-back home top-flight H2Hs for the first time since 1989.

Meanwhile, Luciano Spalletti has hit the ground running at Napoli from day one, guiding his side to a 100% four-game start to this Serie A campaign. Eye-catching early showings are a good omen, as the ‘Partenopei’ have secured a top-five finish on the previous five occasions they managed to win their opening four top-flight games. Another successful midweek is well on the cards, as Napoli have suffered just one defeat in their last 20 Serie A duels with Sampdoria (W16, D3), courtesy of a 3-0 loss at this venue in September 2018. What’s more, Spalletti himself enjoys a resounding managerial record against this opposition, having lost just one of his last 16 league match-ups against Sampdoria (W11, D4). Everything looks to be going Napoli’s way here, as they take the field on a run of six consecutive away league triumphs.