Two Serie A sides struggling for form will lock horns at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara on Saturday lunchtime as Sampdoria play host to Salernitana.
I Blucerchiati have won only three of their last 14 games across all competitions in 2022, while the Garnets have won only three league matches all season.
Match preview
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Sampdoria suffered their 19th defeat of the campaign when they were beaten 2-0 away against Bologna last weekend, with Marko Arnautovic scoring both goals in the second half.
A run of just three wins and 10 defeats since the turn of the year has seen I Blucerchiati slip down the Serie A standings to 16th place, seven points clear of the relegation zone with 18th-placed Venezia having a game in hand.
Marco Giampaolo's side will require at least a couple more victories to secure their top-flight status for an 11th successive season, and Saturday's fixture with basement club Salernitana is one from which they will certainly fancy their chances of claiming maximum points.
Sampdoria have won each of their last five meetings against Salernitana across all competitions, keeping clean sheets in each of their last four. Their most recent encounter saw them secure a routine 2-0 away victory in the reverse fixture in November.
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Sampdoria are one of only three Serie A teams to have lost 19 times this season, but their opponents Salernitana are the only club to have suffered defeat in 20 games, with their most recent at the hands of Roma last weekend.
Ivan Radovanovic had given the Garnets a surprise lead at the Stadio Olimpico but the hosts turned the game on its head with strikes from Carles Perez and Chris Smalling securing a 2-1 win.
Davide Nicola's men have been rooted to the foot of the table since mid-November, and an immediate demotion to the second tier is on the cards as they are nine points adrift from safety. They do, however, have two games in hand on 17th-placed Cagliari so a great escape is not impossible.
Two of Salernitana's three Serie A victories this term have been away from home, against Hellas Verona and Venezia, and considering Sampdoria's poor form, they will feel that Saturday's contest is an opportunity to win a fourth top-flight match and end their 11-game run without a win.
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Team News
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Sampdoria quartet Manolo Gabbiadini (knee), Albin Ekdal (heel), Sebastian Giovinco and Andrea Conti (both muscle) and all ruled out with injuries.
Danish playmaker Mikkel Damsgaard, who has been sidelined since October with a thigh problem, is closing in on a return to full fitness, but it remains to be seen whether he will be fit in time for this weekend's game.
Experienced forward Francesco Caputo, who has scored 16 goals and provided four assists in 20 Serie A games against promoted sides, is set to start in attack alongside Abdelhamid Sabiri.
As for Salernitana, they will be without Diego Perotti (calf), Lys Mousset (leg), Mamadou Coulibaly and Matteo Ruggeri (both muscle) due to injury.
Centre-back Federico Fazio and attacking midfielder Federico Bonazzoli are both available to return after serving one-match suspensions last weekend, and the duo are expected to replace Luca Ranieri and Ederson respectively in the first XI.
Thirty-nine-year-old forward Franck Ribery, who has failed to score in 19 league appearances this season, is set to start in attack alongside Milan Djuric.
Sampdoria possible starting lineup:
Audero; Bereszynski, Ferrari, Colley, Murru; Rincon; Candreva, Thorsby, Sensi; Sabiri, Caputo
Salernitana possible starting lineup:
Sepe; Gyomber, Radovanovic, Fazio; Mazzocchi, Bohinen, L. Coulibaly, Obi; Bonazzoli, Ribery; Djuric
We say: Sampdoria 2-1 Salernitana
Time is running out for Salernitana in their quest to avoid relegation but a victory against Sampdoria could help get the ball rolling for a great escape from the bottom three.
However, I Blucerchiati will head into Saturday's game as the favourites, despite their poor run of form, and they should do enough to secure a slender win on home soil.
Oliver Thomas
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Sampdoria win with a probability of 56.8%. A draw had a probability of 23.1% and a win for Salernitana had a probability of 20.14%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sampdoria win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.3%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.15%) and 2-1 (9.84%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.96%), while for a Salernitana win it was 0-1 (6.1%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 5.3% likelihood.
