Lazio travel to Sampdoria for their opening game of the 2019/20 Serie A season as Simone Inzaghi’s men look to build on last season’s Coppa Italia win.
Sampdoria (4-3-3): Audero; Bereszynski, Colley, Murillo, Murru; Linetty, Ekdal, Jankto; Gabbiadini, Quagliarella, Caprari.
Unavailable: Maroni
Suspended: Depaoli
Lazio (3-4-1-2): Strakosha; Vavro, Acerbi, Bastos; Lazzari, Parolo, Milinkovic-Savic, Lulic; Luis Alberto; Correa, Immobile.
Unavailable: Lukaku, Marusic
– Lazio have won 11 of their last 15 Serie A meetings against Sampdoria (D3 L1).?o Sampdoria and Lazio have faced each other eight times on Round 1 in Serie A with the Blucerchiati winning four times (D1 L3).
– Lazio have found the back of the net in each of their last seven Serie A away games against Sampdoria. Five wins for the Biancocelesti in the process (D1 L1).
– In each of Lazio’s last seven Serie A games in Liguria (v Sampdoria and Genoa), both teams have found the net (24 total goals) resulting our wins, a draw and two defeats for the Biancocelesti.
– Sampdoria have won their last two Serie A opening games when played on home soil. They last won three such games in a row in 1990/91.
– Lazio lost on Round 1 in Serie A last term, after remaining unbeaten in the previous three season openers (W2 D1).
– Lazio have both scored and conceded in each of their last six Serie A games last term (W2 D1 L3). They last went seven in a row in 2017.
– Eusebio Di Francesco has faced Lazio 11 times in Serie A as a coach (W4 D2 L5), four of them have been in Rome derbies (W2 D1 L1).
– Sampdoria striker Fabio Quagliarella has scored only twice in his side’s opening match in a Serie A campaign. A brace against Benevento in 2017 and one goal against Frosinone in 2015 for Torino.
– Lazio striker Ciro Immobile has scored seven Serie A goals against Sampdoria, and hasn’t scored more against any other side (level with Genoa and Cagliari).