Salernitana will host Sampdoria as both teams are struggling this season. Prior to this game, Salernitana had lost 1-0 to Genoa in Serie A. Sampdoria had lost 3-1 to Sudtirol in Serie B.
Preview (Salernitana vs. Sampdoria)
Salernitana is now at the bottom of the table with just four points and no victories from their first ten games. They finished 11 points above the relegation zone in Serie A last season. The season did not start off well for Filippo Inzaghi’s team. They lost to Lecce and Torino and drew three of their first five games. The Garnets’ major collapse began in the final week of September. They presently have the second-worst defensive record in the league after losing four of their previous five Serie A games and failing to score in all four of those games.
Apart from the league, Salernitana started their Coppa Italia campaign against Serie B team Ternana in the round of 64, winning by a slim 1-0 margin. Antonio Candreva scored the game’s lone goal within the first ten minutes. The hosts’ previous head-to-head record—Salernitana has won twice and drawn once in the last three meetings—might instill confidence in them before Tuesday’s game.
With only seven points from 11 games, Andrea Pirlo’s team is currently just one point above the automatic relegation zone to Serie C. It was extremely disheartening at the time. In the Coppa Italia’s opening round, Sampdoria played the aforementioned Sudtirol. They only advanced to the following round after prevailing 7-6 on penalties. The team’s recent performance against Salernitana is not encouraging. Their present form does not point to significant improvement—at least not just yet.
Team News
Before Tuesday’s match, Salernitana’s roster was almost completely healthy, with Federico Fazio being the lone exception. Fazio is set to be sidelined until the end of the month. Defender Matteo Lovato had to be replaced in the 64th minute of the game against Genoa. He is doubtful for Tuesday’s game, thus Chukwubuikem Ikwuemesi will start in the back three in his stead. The front three of Candreva, Jovane Cabral, and Boulaye Dia are expected to be Inzaghi’s main sources of goals, but like the entire Salernitana team, they haven’t exactly played up to par.
In contrast, Sampdoria faces a far more serious injury problem ahead of Tuesday, as five players are presently out. The two important players missing from the starting lineup are defenders Petr Stojanovic and Nicola Murru. As a result, Inzaghi is left with only Facundo Gonzalez and Daniele Ghilardi at center back and Fabio Depaoli at right back. Both find it difficult to generate scoring opportunities in the attacking third. Recent victories over Sampdoria have given Salernitana a psychological edge, but neither team is a clear favorite going into this game.
Salernitana 1 – 0 Sampdoria
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