Napoli vs Sampdoria 03/02/19

03 February 2019

Dumped out of the Coppa Italia during midweek, Napoli look to bounce back immediately as they welcome Sampdoria to the Stadio San Paolo in weekend’s Serie A clash.

Carlo Ancelotti and his players can’t forget a 3-0 hammering at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris back in September, as they now go after revenge that would see them stretching a three-game SA lossless run (W2, D1). Alongside Juventus, the Partenopei are the only Serie A team that is yet to lose at home this term (W9, D2), with Ancelotti’s men entering this round with a four-game home winning run. Unstoppable at home, the Blues have bagged 25 goals at the Stadio San Paolo this campaign, averaging 2.27 goals scored per match, which is the second-best record in the Italian top tier. Furthermore, only two sides have shipped fewer goals at home than Napoli so far, with the Blues conceding just seven goals in 11 SA home outings this term.

The visitors have gone through a series of ups and downs throughout this campaign, winning and losing in sequences. A nightmarish run of three consecutive Serie A defeats preceded a seven-game lossless spell (W5, D2) across all competitions, but the Blucerchiati seem to be going through another difficult period. Winless in three of their last four competitive outings (W1, D2, L1), Marco Giampaolo’s men have suffered the Coppa Italia elimination to AC Milan and a 2-1 loss to Juventus, which has stretched their winless run against the Serie A top-five teams to six games (D2, L4). However, the Genoa-based outfit have a chance to burst into top four if they win this, as they currently trail fourth-placed AC Milan by two points.