On December 1 Sampdoria will take on Napoli at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris as two of Serie A’s high flyers meet. 
It promises to be an exciting contest under the lights on Monday night with two sets of supporters that aren’t particularly fond of each other considering the away side’s friendship with Genoa.
A win for the Blucerchiati would see them leapfrog Napoli and take a place in the Top Three as the Partenopei have 22 points compared to Samp’s 21. Defeat could see either side get caught by Genoa or Lazio depending on Sunday’s results.
The match will be an acid test for Doria and a way to gauge whether the Ligurian side are genuine contenders for European football next season or if they’re just a mid-table side enjoying their moment in the sun before a slide back down the table.
Sampdoria don’t boast the best of records against Napoli and have lost their last three home games against the southern side at the Marassi but a positive result on Monday evening would go a long way to silencing the critics who feel Sampdoria are fortunate to still be so high in the table.
Both sides picked up slightly disappointing draws in Serie A after their return to action following the international break. Sampdoria needed a late own-goal to rescue a point away to lowly Cesena.
Napoli threw away a two-goal lead at home to Cagliari before Jonathan De Guzman restored the Azzurri’s advantage only for the Sardinian side to equalise again.
The Partenopei will also have to adapt to the fact that they have less time to prepare for the fixture following their largely dull and disappointing goalless draw away at Sparta Prague, though Napoli did put out a relatively strong team for the Europa League fixture that saw them proceed to the next round in uninspiring fashion.
Djamel Mesbah and Roberto Soriano have returned to training at Bogliasco with Samp and the new Italy international is expected to break back into the starting XI but the Algerian will probably sit out the Napoli game.
Samp will also have to make a decision about who will start in goal as Emiliano Viviano is on the verge of a return form injury. However, Sergio Romero has done a good job in the five games since the Italian’s injury and it will be interesting to see if the Argentine number one can keep his place in the starting XI.
Napoli know that Lorenzo Insigne will be out long-term, while Dries Mertens went off with a head injury during Belgium’s draw with Wales. Mertens’s fitness is uncertain as he has returned to training but he was left out of the squad that travelled to the Czech Republic on Europa League duty but he could start in Liguria.
Michu’s fitness is also a doubt but the Spaniard has only made two Serie A starts for the Partenopei and is yet to score so was unlikely to start on Monday regardless.
Colombian full-back Juan Zuniga is also a doubt and he too was left out of the Azzurri squad for the Europa League fixture against Sparta Prague as he continues to undergo physiotherapy.
Expected Starting XIs
Sampdoria: Romero; Regini, Silvestre, Gastaldello, De Silvestri; Obiang, Palombo, Soriano; Eder, Okaka, Gabbiadini
Napoli: Rafael; Ghoulam, Koulibaly, Albiol, Maggio; David Lopez, Jorginho, Mertens, Hamsik, Callejon; Higuain
