After beginning the season with a defeat to Inter, La Dea have gathered a bit of momentum following a four game unbeaten streak, which included victories against Frosinone and Empoli.
Coach Edy Reja will be desperate to collect as many points as possible early on in the year to avoid the fate of experiencing another relegation threatened season.
Meanwhile, despite Sampdoria’s solid start to the Serie A campaign, the Blucerchiati are yet to string consecutive wins together and boss Walter Zenga is eager for consistency when they face the Bergamo outfit.
The Genoa-based club secured one of the upsets of the season last week, after a resilient 2-1 triumph against title contenders Roma and surged into fifth spot on the league table with 10 points.
Sampdoria accomplished the double over their counterparts during the 2014/15 campaign.
In the corresponding fixture back in March, Il Doria cancelled out Atalanta’s early lead with two second-half goals from Luis Muriel and Stefano Okaka respectively.
In terms of team news, Atalanta could ring the changes for the game, given the short turnaround they have to manage after playing on Thursday. However, the front trio of Mauricio Pinilla, Maximiliano Moralez and German Denis should all feature in the starting XI. Winger Marcelo Estigarribia is predicted to be unavailable and remains Reja’s only injury concern.
For Sampdoria, boss Walter Zenga will have to do without centre-back Matias Silvestre who was forced out of the clash with Roma after 29 minutes with a muscular injury. Niklas Moisander is expected to replace the Argentine, while Antonio Cassano may start from the outset instead of Muriel, alongside striker Eder.
Form Guide: Atalanta (L-W-D-D-W) Sampdoria (W-D-W-L-W)
Expected Staring XIs
Atalanta:Sportiello; Masiello, Stendardo, Paletta, Cherubin; Kurtic, de Roon, Carmona; Moralez, Denis, Pinilla
Sampdoria:Viviano; Pereira, Moisander, Zukanovic, Mesbah; Fernando, Soriano, Barreto; Correa, Muriel, Eder
Infographics Source: www.sporticos.com
