Competition: Italian Serie A 2016-17
Date: Saturday, 7th January, 19:45 GMT
Stadium: Stadio San Paolo (Napoli).
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Napoli host Sampdoria for Saturday’s late kick off, aiming to carry their form into 2017, having ended the year with a two-month unbeaten run.
Maurizio Sarri and Marco Giampaolo will be hoping that the winter break provided the boost their players needed, having managed 3-3 and 0-0 draws respectively in the final match of 2016.
Sampdoria’s tepid draw with Chievo rounded off a disappointing December for the Blucerchiati, especially given their impressive autumn form, which saw them pick up 16 points in October and November.
Napoli’s draw against Fiorentina, although more exciting, was a match of two highly contrasting halves, as the Partenopei were at their free-flowing best for the first 45 minutes, only to rely upon an injury time Manolo Gabbiadini penalty to salvage a draw before the final whistle.
Samp will enjoy having a relatively quiet treatment room, although despite first choice ‘keeper Emiliano Viviano’s recent return to training, he is unlikely to be fit for this weekend. The only other long-term injury is Carlos Carbonero, and the less said about Antonio Cassano, the better.
Giampaolo’s main concern will be re-igniting the form of his strike duo Luis Muriel and Fabio Quagliarella. The two forwards looked a formidable partnership early in the season, scoring 10 between them, however both have gone off the boil as of late and Samp’s two goals in the last three games have come from substitute Patrik Schick.
Rumours have been circulating regarding interest in Muriel from the so-called ‘big clubs’. Sampdoria have recently been linked with Carpi’s Kevin Lasagna, whilst club President Massimo Ferrero has admitted to his interest in Napoli forward Gabbiadini. Saturday’s match may serve as an audition for the Bergamo native, should he feature.
Sarri has no such problems in attack. Dries Mertens occupies fourth place in the Serie A scorers’ chart with 11 goals, whilst Jose Callejon and Lorenzo Insigne are both in fine form flanking the Belgian. The club’s recent purchase of Genoa front man Leonardo Pavoletti provides a more physical option in the absence of Arkadiusz Milik, though he probably won’t make his debut until Tuesday’s Coppa Italia tie with Spezia.
The Coach’s attention will therefore presumably turn to shoring up his leaky defence. Napoli have conceded three goals in two consecutive games, and Sarri’s defensive woes are only likely to get worse in January. First choice centre-back and right-back Kalidou Koulibaly and Faouzi Ghoulam have left for the Africa Cup of Nations, whilst his other central defensive options in Raul Albiol and Vlad Chiriches are suspended and injured respectively. To aggravate matters Nikola Maksimovic, a summer signing from Torino, has struggled to adapt to Sarri’s defensive back four.
Chiriches will require a fitness test, but failing that we could see Lorenzo Tonelli finally make his debut for the Partenopei.
Napoli have not lost this fixture since the 2009-10 season and have won half of their 36 matches against Sampdoria. However, with Samp strikers out to prove a point and Sarri’s defence already stretched bare, the result is far from certain.
Keep an eye on: Dries Mertens (Napoli) – Napoli’s Belgian winger has settled into his new False 9 position and is thriving, having scored eight goals in his last three Serie A matches. He can only hope the winter break hasn’t taken away some of that extraordinary momentum.
Form Guide: Napoli (D W W W W) Sampdoria (D L L W W)
Last season: Napoli 2-2 Sampdoria
Stat fact: This has typically been high-scoring affair with 25 goals scored in the last five meetings, home and away.
Top tip: Over 3.5 Goals and Both Teams to Score.
Napoli (probable): Reina; Hysaj, Tonelli, Maksimovic, Strinic; Zielinski, Diawara, Hamsik; Callejon, Mertens, Insigne
Suspended: Albiol
Sampdoria (probable): Puggioni; Sala, Silvestre, Skriniar, Regini; Barreto, Torreira, Linetty; Fernandes; Quagliarella, Muriel
Prediction: Napoli Win
