Sampdoria vs Juventus preview

January 8, 2016
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Sampdoria vs JuventusIt will be up to revived Sampdoria to try and stop red-hot Juventus in their tracks as the Bianconeri are again in championship form.

Buoyed by the Derby della Lanterna victory, the Blucerchiati will attempt to extend their unbeaten run to four Serie A matches.

Sampdoria are slowly getting their season back on track after a disappointing run that saw them fail to win any of eight successive games in all competitions.

The Coppa Italia defeat to equally poor AC Milan appear to have served as a wake-up call for Vincenzo Montella’s men, who have raised their game since.

The 2-0 home triumph over Palermo was the first step in the right direction, but it was the derby win over bitter rivals Genoa that has the potential to turn the season around.

Even if Sampdoria almost threw away a three-goal lead, the 3-2 victory over the Rossoblu will do wonders for the players’ confidence.

Nevertheless, the Bluecerchiati clearly face a difficult task against relentless Juventus, although at least they don’t have too many selection problems.

Lorenzo De Silvestri is the only first team regular on the sidelines, with Carbonero, Silvestre and Mesbah all expected to pass fitness tests.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-2-1): Viviano – Cassani, Moisander, Regini, Zukanovic – Barreto, Fernando, Soriano – Carbonero, Eder – Cassano.

It took Juventus quite a while to get over the loss of Carlos Tevez, Andrea Pirlo and few other important players, but we can now say they are effectively back to their best.

The Bianconeri quickly closed down a huge gap behind the leading pack and now sit mere three points behind leaders Inter Milan.

Juventus won eight straight league games to climb to fourth in the Serie A standings and they are 1.50 (1/2) to make it nine on the bounce.

The reigning champions have also improved their defensive displays, keeping six clean sheets in last nine games in all competitions.

And they are now determined to place extra pressure on the likes of Inter Milan, Fiorentina and Napoli with a strong performance at Marassi.

Claudio Marchisio misses a trip to Liguria through suspension, whilst Mario Mandzukic is doubtful (calf) and Roberto Pereyra, Mario Lemina and Andrea Barzagli are out injured.

Probable starting line-up (3-5-2): Buffon – Caceres, Bonucci, Chiellini – Lichtsteiner, Sturaro, Khedira, Pogba, Alex Sandro – Morata, Dybala.

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