Napoli vs Sampdoria prediction, preview, team news and more

The Serie A returns to the fold with another set of games this weekend as Napoli lock horns with Sampdoria on Sunday. Both teams have been inconsistent in recent weeks and will need to step up in this fixture.

Sampdoria are in 15th place in the Serie A standings and have failed to meet expectations this season. The away side suffered a 2-1 defeat against Cagliari this week and will need to bounce back in this match.

Napoli, on the other hand, are in third place in the league table at the moment and have stuttered after their strong start to the season. The Neapolitans held Juventus to a 1-1 draw in their previous game and will want to take it up a notch this weekend.

Napoli vs Sampdoria Head-to-Head

Napoli have an excellent record against Sampdoria and have won 10 out of 26 matches played between the two teams. Sampdoria have managed a paltry two victories against Napoli and will need to improve their record in this fixture.

The previous meeting between the two Italian sides took place in September last year and ended in a 4-0 victory for Napoli. Sampdoria were outclassed on the day and will need to step up to the plate this weekend.

Napoli form guide in the Serie A: D-L-W-L-L

Sampdoria form guide in the Serie A: L-D-D-W-L

Napoli vs Sampdoria Team News

Napoli

Napoli have as many as five players ruled out with COVID-19 this week, including the likes of Fabian Ruiz and Victor Osimhen. Kevin Malcuit is also injured and will not be included in the squad.

Injured: Kevin Malcuit

Suspended: Mario Rui

Unavailable: Fabian Ruiz, Victor Osimhen, Eljif Elmas, Hirving Lozano, Alex Meret, Adam Ounas, Kalibou Koulibaly, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa

Sampdoria

Mikkel Damsgaard, Fabio Depaoli, and Maya Yoshida are injured and have been ruled out of this match. Antonio Candreva was sent off against Cagliari and is suspended for this fixture.

Injured: Mikkel Damsgaard, Maya Yoshida, Valerio Verre, Ernesto Torregrossa

Suspended: Antonio Candreva

Unavailable: Tommaso Augello, Omar Colley

Napoli vs Sampdoria Predicted XI

Napoli Predicted XI (4-3-3): David Ospina; Faouzi Ghoulam, Juan Jesus, Amir Rrahmani, Giovanni Di Lorenzo; Stanislav Lobotka, Piotr Zielinski, Diego Demme; Andrea Petagna, Matteo Politano, Dries Mertens

Sampdoria Predicted XI (4-4-2): Emil Audero; Nicola Murru, Julian Chabot, Alex Ferrari, Radu Dragusin; Bartosz Bereszynski, Albin Ekdal, Morten Thorsby, Kristoffer Askildsen; Francesco Caputo, Manolo Gabbiadini

Napoli vs Sampdoria Prediction

Napoli have been severely hampered by player unavailability this week and will need to make the most of their resources against Sampdoria. With Lorenzo Insigne also closing in on a move to the MLS, the likes of Mertens and Politano will need to step up on Sunday.

Sampdoria have struggled this season and will also have to do without many of their stars this weekend. Napoli have been the better team this season and hold the upper hand in this fixture.

Prediction: Napoli 2-1 Sampdoria

About the author

Aditya is a European and international football writer at Sportskeeda, covering previews, news, post-match articles and live blogs for 5 years. During his time here, he has had the privilege of covering a press meeting during the collaboration between his favorite club Bengaluru FC and Sevilla, where he got a chance to interact with Sevilla president Jose Castro and explore the grassroots development in his city.

Aditya started following the sport after being dazzled by Ronaldinho’s silky feet at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He is a Barcelona fan and unsurprisingly, his favorite manager and players are Pep Guardiola and Andres Iniesta respectively. He admires the latter for his superhuman talent and his off-pitch demeanor, and his winning goal in Spain’s 2010 World Cup final win over the Netherlands left a lasting impact on Aditya.

The match-preview specialist believes that his ongoing five-year stint at Sportskeeda has given him the ability to identify the distinct line between emotional and fact-based articles, which separates him from other journalists. For him, fact-checking is the most integral part of his writing process and he only relies on authentic platforms for data.

Aditya is a semi-professional pianist and likes to participate in concerts and recitals when not immersed in football.

Know More

Edited by Aditya Hosangadi

Napoli vs Sampdoria prediction, preview, team news and more | Serie A 2021-22