Sampdoria vs Livorno

Sampdoria are back at Marassi hoping to continue their strong play of late when they play host to Livorno in Round 32 of Serie A. Sampdoria are coming off of an away win last week while the struggling Livorno were held to a frustrating draw at home which leaves the perilously close to the drop zone of the league table.

Sampdoria’s 49 points for the season have them even on points with AC Milan but they sit in 7^th place just behind Milan on goal difference. The blucerchiati hold a 7 point edge on 8^th place Genoa. Samp scored a great triumph away from home last week when they bested Empoli by a score of 0-2 at the Carlo Castellani. This latest result extends Samp’s unbeaten run and they are winners of 4 of their last 5 matches including their last 3 contests away from home. This week manager Mazzarri will not be able to count on Montella, Campagnaro or Mirante who have been ruled out because of injury. However, this match will feature the return of Antonio Cassano after serving a 5 match suspension. He will start alongside Delvecchio in a 5-3-2.

Livorno played to a 0-0 draw at home against Siena last week at their Stadio Armando Picchi. That result leaves Livorno in the middle of a 4 way tie for 15^th place with Parma, Catania, and Cagliari. At this time Livorno have a better goal difference than Cagliari and that is the only factor keeping them out of the relegation zone. The side managed by Camolese are having a hard time scoring these days. They have produced just 2 draws with 3 losses over their last 5 games and have scored only 2 goals over this stretch. The injured list for the visit to Sampdoria consists of Giannichedda, Volpe and Vidigal. Camolese will match Sampdoria’s 3-5-2 formation with Rossini and Tavano making the start in attack.

This is a direct clash between two sides going in opposite directions. Livorno simply cannot produce a consistent attack, while Sampdoria have scored 10 goals over their last 5 matches. Couple that with the fact that Livorno have managed just 3 wins away from home while Samp have lost just 1 time in 15 games at home and this match doesn’t look too promising for the road side.

Prediction: Sampdoria (2-0)