Sampdoria face a monumental challenge ahead when they welcome Serie A league leaders Napoli to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris for Sunday’s gameweek 21 fixture.
The Blucerchiati lie in a disappointing 14th position off the back of two losses while their high-flying opponents have won four straight Serie A games and sit 21 points ahead of Samp in the league.
Heading into December’s Christmas break, it seemed as though Vincenzo Montella was starting to make his mark with his new team.
Sampdoria earned a point away to Lazio, before taking maximum points against Palermo, followed by a derby win over Genoa in the first game back for 2016.
However, a respectable 2-1 loss to Juventus was soon followed by last week’s defeat to lowly Carpi, which now sees them placed six points above the relegation zone and only two points ahead of 17th placed Palermo.
In contrast, Napoli have enjoyed an impressive run of form which has seen them climb to the top of the Serie A table in a strong start to 2016.
However the Partenopei suffered a midweek setback when they were knocked out of this season’s Coppa Italia, suffering a 2-0 loss at home to Inter.
Additionally, coach Maurizio Sarri has been surrounded by controversy following his homophobic remarks during the match which resulted in a two-game Coppa Italia ban and a €20,000 fine.
Tuesday’s cup exits means one less competition for Sarri to manage and the 57-year-old will be keen for his squad to move past the disappointing result, particularly given the club’s impressive record against their weekend opponents.
Sampdoria are winless against the Neapolitans in their last nine encounters with their last victory coming in May 2010 thanks to a Giampaolo Pazzini goal.
This season’s earlier match-up saw the teams play out a 2-2 draw with a double for both Gonzalo Higuain and Eder, while last season’s corresponding fixture also ended in a draw.
With just two Serie A clean sheets to their names, Sampdoria’s defense will be key to earning any result up against the league’s best attack who have scored 13 goals in their last four league fixtures.
And with Sarri boasting a full-strength squad to choose from, the task will not be made easy for the Blucerchiati.
Having started the midweek fixture on the bench, Higuain looks certain to return to Napoli’s starting line-up along with Marek Hamsik and Lorenzo Insigne.
Montella on the other hand will be without his attacking maestro in Roberto Soriano, who will serve a one-match suspension while Lorenzo De Silvestri and Djamel Mesbah remain on the injury list.
Form Guide: (D-W-W-L-L) Napoli (W-W-W-W-L)
Sampdoria: Viviano; Cassani, Silvestre, Zukanovic, Regini; Barreto, Fernando, Carbonero; Correa, Cassano, Eder
Napoli: Reina; Hysaj, Albiol, Koulibaly, Ghoulam; Allan, Jorginho, Hamsik; Callejon, Higuain, Insigne
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com