Prediction: Sampdoria vs Inter

27th February 2011

Sampdoria are struggling for form lately and they enter the match low on confidence, but seeing they are still not completely safe the Doriani have got to try and get something from this game. Inter, on the other hand, are going strong in Serie A and they are hoping to further decrease the gap behind title rivals with three points from Marassi.

With impressive Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini in the side, Sampdoria looked like they could even enter the race for European places, following some attractive showings in the first part of the season, but everything changed when president Ricardo Garrone decided to sell the star duo. Samp thus lost both their main creative outlet and the top scorer, so it is little wonder Mimmo Di Carlo’s side now sit in 14th place. The club did sign them replacements in Federico Macheda, Massimo Maccarone and Jonathan Biabiany, but having scored just one league goal between them, they are clearly yet to prove their worth to the team. Sampdoria are going through a very rough patch at the moment, having lost five out of last seven games and they certainly don’t look capable of matching a very good Inter side. The hosts will be without Fernando Tissone, Franco Semioli and Nicola Pozzi, which only adds to the worries.

Inter were always going to have problems to repeat the success they had achieved last season, but nobody could expect such poor showings under Rafa Benitez. Nonetheless, his departure and the arrival of Leonardo proved to be a real blessing for the Neroazzurri, who would soon start to play to their potential and return to the right track. Winning all but two league games under Leonardo, Inter quickly returned to the title race and they now have a great chance to close the gap behind title rivals Milan and Napoli, before the two teams play each other on Monday. The Neroazzurri ended the good run of results as they lost the Champions League clash against Bayern, but their performance was pretty good, nevertheless, and the players are eager to show they didn’t deserve to lose the game. Boss Leonardo has major selection problems at the moment, with Ranochia, Cambiasso, Milito, Samuel and Maicon all unavailable, although Giampaolo Pazzini returns to the side.

Conclusion

Sampdoria largely struggle at the moment and they don’t look capable of beating much weaker sides than Inter. The Neroazzurri are playing well at the moment and you shouldn’t expect the unlucky defeat to Inter to have a destabilizing effect. All things considered, away win looks like one of the best football predictions this weekend.

Verdict: Away win Inter (2)

Best Odds: 21/20

Bookmaker: Victor Chandler