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Sampdoria aim to continue their charge up the Serie A table when they welcome Sassuolo to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Wednesday night.
Tenth-placed Samp are only six points behind the Neroverdi in the table, whose 23 points from 13 games leaves them in sixth place.
The Blucerchiati ended their dismal run of seven winless games (2D, 5L) with an impressive 2-1 win away to Hellas Verona last week.
The winning feeling returned over the weekend, with Sampdoria defeating Crotone 3-1. Mikkel Damsgaard, Jakub Jankto and Fabio Quagliarella found the net for Claudio Ranieri's side in a convincing attacking display at home.
Sassuolo, meanwhile, have had their storming start to the season tempered somewhat, with a 1-1 draw away to Fiorentina last week.
Their mood worsened over the weekend with Rafael Leao scoring the fastest-ever Serie A goal in Sassuolo's 2-1 loss at home to AC Milan, with Domenico Berardi grabbing a late consolation goal for the hosts.
Sampdoria vs Sassuolo Head-to-Head
Sassuolo have the edge over Sampdoria of late, winning five of their last 10, with the Genoan side only managing two wins in that period.
The two sides last met in January of this year, playing out a goalless draw at the Luigi Ferraris. Sassuolo had won 4-1 at the Mapei prior to that in September of 2019.
Sampdoria form guide: D-L-L-W-W
Sassuolo form guide: L-D-W-D-L
Sampdoria vs Sassuolo Team News
Sampdoria
Antonio Candreva's reported tiff with manager Claudio Ranieri has apparently been resolved, with the wingback featuring against Crotone. Keita Balde is also fit again, making the bench for the previous game. The Senegalese star may feature in this match.
Manolo Gabbiadini is recuperating from a hernia operation, with Bartosz Berezynski and Nik Prelec still working their way back to match fitness. Alex Ferrari's injury against Crotone rules him out, with 19-year-old Kaique Rocha set to replace him at right-back.
Injured: Bartosz Bereszynski, Manolo Gabbiadini, Nik Prelec, Alex Ferrari
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Sassuolo
Sassuolo boss Roberto de Zerbi welcomed forwards Gregoire Defrel and Francesco Caputo back from injury against AC Milan, with Vlad Chiriches also making the squad.
That leaves defender Filippo Romagna as the only injured player. Manuel Locatelli served his suspension against Milan and is now available against Sampdoria.
De Zerbi is likely to ring in the changes, with this their fourth game in 10 days.
Injured: Filippo Romagna
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Sampdoria vs Sassuolo Predicted Lineups
Sampdoria Predicted XI (4-4-2): Emil Audero (GK); Kaique Rocha, Maya Yoshida, Omar Colley, Tommaso Augello; Antonio Candreva, Albin Ekdal, Morten Thornsby, Keita Balde; Gaston Ramirez, Fabio Quagliarella
Sassuolo Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Andrea Consigli (GK); Jeremy Toljan, Vlad Chiriches, Marlon Santos, Giorgos Kyriakopoulos; Maxime Lopez, Manuel Locatelli; Domenico Berardi, Filip Djuricic, Jeremie Boga; Francesco Caputo
Sampdoria vs Sassuolo Prediction
Sassuolo have kept clean sheets in their last three away games against Sampdoria, but are unlikely to repeat that given their tired performance against AC Milan.
The Blucerchiati, in contrast, look energised and ready to take on Sassuolo. Keita Balde is probably chomping at the bit on his return, while Fabio Quagliarella is also in contention to score.
We expect a low-scoring game, with Sampdoria ending their winless run at home against Sassuolo.
Prediction: Sampdoria 2-1 Sassuolo
