Sampdoria are a team well known to football fans around Europe but in recent years they have struggled to make much of an impact on Serie A. However, this season that could be about to change as the club start round 14 of the season sitting 6th place in the league with a game in hand on most of the teams above and below them in the table. Is Sampdoria were to qualify for Europe this season it would be a massive achievement for the club and to do that they need to take maximum points from this game in Bologna on Saturday afternoon.
Serie A – Renato Dall’Ara, Bologna – Saturday 25th November – 19:45 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 23/10 at Ladbrokes |
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Bologna
SampdoriaBologna Form
Bologna were relieved to pick up a 3-2 win at Hellas Verona last weekend in Serie A which halted a run of 4 straight defeats in the league. Bologna were going along quite nicely up until the point they lost 1-0 at Atalanta on the 22nd October and prior to that defeat they were undefeated in 4 Serie A games, drawing at home with Inter Milan, defeating Sassuolo and Genoa away before returning home to beat SPAL. However, at home Bologna have won only 1 of their last 7 league games, which was the 2-1 victory over lowly SPAL. Furthermore, in 7 of Bologna FC’s last 8 home Serie A games both teams scored.
Sampdoria Form
Sampdoria make the trip to the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara having lost just 2 games this season in Serie A. Last weekend they produced a tremendous display at home to defeat the defending champions Juventus, racing into a 3-0 lead only to end up winning the match 3-2 thanks to a pair of late goals from the visitors. Sampdoria have won 5 of their last 6 league games, with the only defeat coming at Inter Milan where they rallied towards the end of the game and almost picked up a point. However, Sampdoria will be looking to improve their defensive record which has seen both teams score in 16 of their last 21 Serie A games. They have also won just 1 of their last 5 away league games.
Team News
Federico Di Francesco is the only injury concern for Bologna, who are set to name the same starting XI from the match which saw them pick up 3 points in Verona last weekend. Sampdoria also have little to worry about in terms of injuries heading into this match and Dennis Praet is the only man who will miss out.
Top Betting Tips
Given the great recent form of Sampdoria, the odds do not seem to reflect their overall results. This is mainly due to their away form but you can get 17/10 with Skybet for Sampdoria to win the game, which is too good to turn down. If Sampdoria are to win the match, they are likely to need at least 2 goals because a clean sheet is probably out of the question. Sampdoria have scored 2 goals in each of their last 2 away league games and William Hill offer 29/20 for Sampdoria to score 2 or more goals in this match. However, as a clean sheet is unlikely for the visitors, a Sampdoria win with both teams scoring seems like a good bet at 4/1 with Ladbrokes.