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Palermo will host Sampdoria at the Renzo Barbera on Friday in the quarterfinals of the 2023-24 Serie B promotion playoffs campaign. The home side endured a sluggish finish to the regular season, prompting the dismissal of head coach Eugenio Corini. They will look to turn a corner now when it matters the most.
They beat Suditrol 1-0 in their final game of the regular season, with Salim Diakite scoring the sole goal of the game midway through the second half to register his maiden goal for the club.
Sampdoria, meanwhile, enjoyed a strong finish to their season and continue their push for an immediate return to the Italian top flight. They picked up a 3-1 away victory over Catanzaro in their last match, with veteran forward Fabio Borini scoring a brilliant hat-trick to hand the Blucerchiati a positive end to their regular season.
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Palermo vs Sampdoria Head-to-Head
Historically, there have been 70 meetings between Palermo and Sampdoria. Both sides have won 22 games apiece while their other 26 matchups have ended in draws.
The two sides last faced off in a league clash last month which ended 2-2, with the Rosanero heading into the break a goal up before Roma loanee Ebrima Darboe netted a stunning equalizer for the visitors in the second half.
Palermo Form Guide in Serie B: W-D-L-L-D
Sampdoria Form Guide in Serie B: W-W-W-D-D
Palermo vs Sampdoria Team News
Palermo
Francesco Di Mariano and Aljosa Vasic are both injured and will not feature for the hosts this weekend. Ionut Nedelcearu is also set to sit out Friday's game as he is suspended due to an accumulation of bookings.
Injured: Francesco Di Mariano, Aljosa Vasic
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Ionut Nedelcearu
Sampdoria
The visitors will be unable to count on the services of Estanis Pedrola and Ronaldo Vieira this weekend as the duo are both out with injuries.
Injured: Ronaldo Vieira, Estanis Pedrola
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Palermo vs Sampdoria Predicted XI
Palermo Predicted XI (3-5-2): Sebastiano Desplanches; Simon Graves Jensen, Fabio Lucioni, Ivan Marconi; Salim Diakite, Jacopo Segre, Filippo Ranocchia, Federico Di Francesco, Kristoffer Lund; Roberto Insigne, Matteo Brunori
Sampdoria Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Filip Stankovic; Giovanni Leoni, Daniele Ghilardi, Facundo Gonzalez; Petar Stojanovic, Matteo Ricci, Ebrima Darboe, Simone Giordano; Sebastiano Esposito, Fabio Borini; Manuel De Luca
Palermo vs Sampdoria Prediction
Palermo's latest result ended an eight-game winless streak and they will be looking to build on that this weekend. They are, however, without a win in their last six home matches and could struggle here.
Sampdoria have won their last three games on the bounce and have lost just one of their last 11. They are undefeated in their last seven away outings and should come out on top this Friday.
Prediction: Palermo 0-1 Sampdoria
