Sampdoria vs Torino

Sampdoria return home in week 26 looking to bounce back from a terrible performance in their midweek match when they host Torino at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris at Marassi. Torino come into this contest on a superb roll which has seen them go unbeaten over their last 5 matches.

Sampdoria were absolutely trounced on the road in their last match when they lost away to Atalanta by a score of 4-1 at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia. The loss was as unexpected as it was painful for Mazzarri’s side and leaves the blucerchiati in 7^th place of Serie A with 35 points on the season. They are just ahead of their rivals Genoa on goal difference and 1 point behind 6^th place Udinese. I doriani have a number of injury concerns this week including Montella, Accardi, Bellucci, and Campagnaro. In the case of Campagnaro, he will be out at least 1 month and this will force Samp to shake up their attack. Mazzarri will go with a 3-4-2-1 with Cassano and Delvecchio playing behind Bonazzoli. Zenoni will sit out suspended.

Torino come into this match in 13^th place of the Serie A table with 27 points. Those 27 points have them sitting 2 points back of 12^th place Lazio and 2 ahead of Parma. In their last match they were able to hold out for a 0-0 draw away to Juventus in the Turin derby at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino. It was the third straight draw for Francesco Novellino’s side and extended their unbeaten run to 5 straight matches. This week Rubin, Oguro, Bjelanovic, Fontana and Zanetti are out due to injury. However, Natali and Di Loreto, who were originally listed as doubtful have been cleared to play. This will allow Torino to go with as close to their ideal back 4 as possible. Di Michele and Stellone will start in attack.

This match will be a real test for Sampdoria. They have been strong at home for the most part this season with 7 wins and 4 draws in 12 matches while Torino have managed just 1 win with 8 draws and 3 losses. Torino have been the better side recently but Mazzarri’s side can get their season back on track if they can hold serve at home. The problem is Torino are playing with a lot of confidence.

Prediction: Draw (0-0)