Napoli v Sampdoria – Preview: The final lap and sprint towards Europe

Date: 24th April 2015 at 11:50am
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Mertens - Napoli v FiorentinaFifth place Sampdoria will travel to the San Paolo to battle third place Napoli in Sunday night’s Serie A late evening kickoff.

The Partenopei are looking to overcome a five point gap in the season’s stretch run of seven matches to secure second place and an automatic berth in next year’s Champions League group stage.

The Azzurri are riding a wave of confidence from successive 3-0 Serie A wins and advancement to the Europa League semi-final by dominating German side Wolfsburg who sit second in the Bundesliga.

Meanwhile, the Blucerchiati are searching for European football for the first time since the forgettable 2010-11 campaign when they lost the Champions League playoff, managed only a solitary Europa League victory at the group stage and, ultimately, suffered relegation.

Sampdoria have struggled the last three weeks on the heels of winning a season-high four straight matches, a slump which included last week’s disappointing scoreless home draw against Cesena where Samp controlled the play but were unable to find the winner.

Captain Marek Hamsik has been central to Napoli’s recent form with three goals and an assist in his last three matches, a rarity for the 27-year old midfielder who infrequently plays a full 90 minutes under coach Rafa Benitez and has not displayed the quality which made him one of the Serie A’s best players since a foot injury sidelined him for three months last season.

A much maligned Napoli defense, which only shines in Europa League play, has vastly improved and given confidence to an already potent attack.

The central pairing of young Frenchman Kalidou Koulibaly and Raul Albiol have grown in stature along with a rejuvenated Walter Gargano and David Lopez, who has been a surprise package replacing the popular Valon Behrami as a midfield shield, have provided excellent cover in front of Mariano Andujar whose own spectacular performances have been without the the characteristic errors made by his predecessor Rafael.

Rumours abound concerning both coaches with Benitez’s future at the San Paolo likely to end after the Spaniard declined an extension igniting the possibility of a Premier League return at season’s end, while Samp coach Sinisa Mihajlovic remains the favorite to take over the Partenopei reigns should club president Aurelio De Laurentiis fail to extend Benitez’s stay.

The coaches will have almost their full rosters available with no major injuries to report for Samp while Napoli will only miss the suspended Cristian Maggio and Juan Zuniga who has yet to fully recover from last year’s knee surgery.

Form Guide: Napoli (W-W-L-D-L-D) Sampdoria (D-D-L-W-W-W)

Expected Starting XIs

Napoli: Andujar, Mesto, Koulibaly, Albiol, Strinic, Lopez, Gargano, Gabbiadini, Hamsik, Insigne, Higuain

Torino: Viviano, De Silvestri, Silvestre, Romagnoli, Regini, Soriano, Palombo, Obiang, Eder, Okaka, Eto’o

 

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