Sampdoria V Bologna
Kick-Off: Sunday, 13th February – 14:00 (GMT)
Competition: Serie A
A difficult term could end in disaster should Sampdoria not buck up their ideas, and fast. A shock exit from Europe, when bowing out at just the Group Stage of the Europa League, as well as the January sales of their deadly striking duo of Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini have made for a nightmare season which has every chance of being compounded should the club fail in their bid to avoid the drop. And speaking of relegation, that is exactly what their Sunday opponents, Bologna, also have on their minds and their impressive turn of form has seen their chances of evading the drop increase tenfold.
The Rossoblu have been a personal favourite of mine this season, a resilient side who have been formidable on their own patch. Away from home, though, Bologna are suspect with six of their reverses in Serie A this season having come when forced to go travelling. But their away form has improved immensely of late, losing just one of their previous five away matches in a run which includes creditable draws at Parma (0-0) and the in-form Udinese (1-1) but also a 2-0 victory over Bari, albeit against a side destined for relegation it would seem.
Last weekend’s hard-fought 1-0 win at home over Catania saw Bologna rise to 12th in the table, putting a healthy seven points between them and the bottom three, which could be seen as a double-edged sword in many ways, as while relegation is now at arm’s length, teams have been known to take their foot off the gas in similar situations.
A lot of their success boils down to the goalscoring exploits of Marco Di Vaio, who has found the back of the net 14 times in Serie A this season but failed to get on the scoresheet last weekend. It would be hasty and foolish to presume Bologna’s main man has come off the boil, as it was only one game, but we weren’t impressed with Bologna’s overall performance against Catania last weekend and without two key figures in the form of Miguel Angel Britos and Francesco Della Rocca, we feel the team who have done us proud on so many occasions this season may struggle to leave Genoa with a result, as away from home they are definitely still vulnerable.
Sampdoria are in dire straights at the minute having failed to win any of their last five league games, and just one of their previous eight in a dismal sequence of results which has seen Blucerchiati plummet down the league table, where they now reside in a disconcerting 14th, just four points above the relegation zone. This being a team touted for Europe at the start of the season, possibly even a top-four finish, so to say their fall from grace has been startling would be a massive understatement.
It didn’t take us long to figure out where it’s all going wrong for La Samp. Goals, a serious lack of them as well, is what is costing them valuable points. Quite simply, Sampdoria haven’t recovered nor managed to replace the seemingly irreplaceable duo of Cassano and Pazzini, who were a forward partnership feared by the whole of Serie A. Now manager Domenico Di Carlo, who earlier this week received the dreaded vote of confidence from the board, is left with former Middlesbrough flop Massimo Maccarone and Manchester United youngster Frederico Macheda as his stand-out striking options, with neither having opened their accounts for the club since joining during the January transfer window.
Since beating AS Roma 2-1 at home in what remains their only victory in the league during an otherwise dismal period of two months, Sampdoria haven’t mustered a single goal in Serie A, going their last five games without scoring, a total of 508 minutes. It really is worrying times for a club who are aiming to avoid a fourth successive defeat on Sunday, although they won’t get many better opportunities to end their barren spell than a home clash with a Bologna side who while they may be resilient, and boasting an abundance of character and fighting spirit, are vulnerable away from home and don’t score too many goals in front of goal either, which is just as well as neither do Sampdoria.
Call me crazy, but I’m backing Sampdoria to come good for a change against a team who have produced many a winning bet for me this season. Although, I’m counting on it being tight, with 1-0 standing out like a sore thumb. I wouldn’t be surprised if Macheda popped up with the winner as well, with the Italian arriving back home in buoyant mood after scoring a late winner for the Italy U21s against England during the week.
Betting Tip:
Sampdoria to WIN @ 2.10 WilliamHill
Other Selections:
Sampdoria to WIN by 1 Goal @ 3.50 Bet365
Sampdoria 1-0 (Correct Score) @ 6.75 Unibet
Frederico Macheda to Score @ 3.20 Boylesports
