The match between Sampdoria and Napoli, valid for the seventeenth day of Serie A and which will be played at 18:00 on 8 January at the Marassi stadium of Genoa, it will be an extremely tense game for both teams.
Sampdoria will have to demonstrate that they don't consider themselves a team that has already been relegated, while Napoli will have to make it clear that they can still dictate the law in the league.
Here is our pre-match analysis for Sampdoria – Napoli.
State of form of Napoli
Napoli currently occupies the first position in the Serie A standings with 41 points, 5 points more than second-placed Milan. In the league, Spalletti's team suffered only one defeat in 16 games and collected 13 victories.
During the last 5 games, the Neapolitans have collected 2 victories and 3 defeats. During these games they scored 9 goals and conceded 11. Of these defeats, only one had any real impact on Napoli's season-long journey: the 1-0 defeat at Inter.
Napoli had a drop in form over the last few matches, but the situation in the championship is not compromised. If Spalletti manages to do a good job, especially from a mental point of view, the Neapolitans could once again demonstrate their qualities against Sampdoria.
Napoli will have their entire squad at their disposal for this match.
State of form of Sampdoria
Sampdoria occupies the third last position in the Serie A standings with 9 points. The safety zone is at 14 points and is occupied by Spezia. The Genoese totaled 11 defeats, 3 draws and 2 victories.
During the last 5 games (4 friendlies and 1 in the championship), Sampdoria has totaled 3 victories (one of which against Sassuolo) and 2 draws, completely changing its face compared to the one shown up to before the break in the world cup. During these matches, the Genoese scored 12 goals and conceded just 5.
In the match against Napoli, Sampdoria will not be able to count on Amione, Conti, Sabiri, De Luca, Pussetto and Quagliarella.
Sampdoria – Napoli: which is the favorite team
On paper, Napoli is definitely superior to Sampdoria. Despite this, the Neapolitans will have to keep their guard very high for various reasons. The first is that Sampdoria seems to have been reborn during the World Cup break, while the second is that small teams always prove to be very difficult for Napoli.
Spalletti will have to do a really painstaking job.
