Reggina vs Sampdoria

Reggina have their collective backs against the wall in week 33 of Serie A as they play host to the red hot Sampdoria at the Stadio Oreste Granillo. It will be a battle between club’s going in opposite directions with Sampdoria unbeaten since February while Reggina are staring relegation in the face.

Reggina are currently in 20^th and last place of the Serie A table with 27 points for the season. They are 2 points back of 19^th place Cagliari and 2 points back of 17^th place Livorno which is the club they must catch to stave off relegation. As the last 5 clubs in the league table are currently separated by just 3 points, Reggina are still very much alive in the fight for survival but they must make every point at home count and cannot afford to drop any. They are currently on a 4 match winless run and lost away to Fiorentina by a score of 2-0 last week. They have just one injury concern this week and it involves Montiel meaning that manager Orlandi will be able to go with his base 3-4-1-2. This week the formation will feature Cozza playing behind the 2 strikers Amoruso and Brienza.

Sampdoria come into this game off of yet another win, this time by a score of 2-0 over Livorno at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris at Marassi. It was Samp’s 5^th win in 6 games and they now find themselves even on points with 5^th place AC Milan and 4 behind Fiorentina who are in 4^th place and represent the club Samp must catch in order to qualify for the first round of the Champions League. The blucerchiati also hold a 1 point edge on 7^th place Udinese. The side managed by Mazzarri are missing Mirante and Campagnaro to injury this week while Accardi and Palombo sit out suspended. The positive news on the injury front is that Pieri is available and will be able to start on the left side of midfield.

It is very hard to see Reggina pulling this one out even though they are at home. For starters, they have won just 5 of 16 matches and will be up against a Sampdoria outfit that are on fire at this time. However, Samp have lost 9 times away from home this season and Reggina pretty much have nothing to lose at this point as they are already expected to make the drop. Reggina are like a wounded animal this week so expect them to come out with one of their most determined efforts of the season.

Prediction: Draw (0-0)