High-flying Sampdoria will attempt to return to winning ways when they take on AC Milan, a team that have been showing some improvement of late. And with neither of the two sides under pressure at the moment, chances are we will witness a great game of football at Marassi in Genoa.

On the road to safety

Despite showing plenty of promise last term, Sampdoria largely struggled in the first part of the new campaign and club chiefs had no choice but to sack coach Delio Rossi after the team had slipped into the Serie A danger zone. They then raised a few eyebrows with their decision to appoint former player Sinisa Mihajlovic as his successor, with the Serbian having had somewhat disappointing spells with Catania and Fiorentina. Nonetheless, his arrival worked like a charm as Doriani immediately ended a poor run of results and started climbing the league standings. Some three months later, Sampdoria find themselves safely tucked away in mid table, some nine points above the relegation zone. Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side have been pretty convincing at home of late, but they could face problems against revived AC Milan, especially with three important players missing. And having already lost four fixtures at Marassi, Sampdoria might have to work hard if they want to improve on the 3-0 defeat to Roma.

Important defenders Daniele Gastaldello and Lorenzo De Silvestri are banned, whereas striker Maxi Lopez is out injured.

Unfortunate defeat to Atletico

AC Milan may not have managed to improve their results a great deal since the arrival of Clarence Seedorf, but everyone can see that their performances have been pretty outstanding of late. It is clear that the team are playing with a lot more confidence at the moment, although their efforts are not always properly rewarded. The Rossoneri produced a brilliant performance against one of Europe’s in-form teams in the Champions League, but eventually had to settle for a narrow defeat after missing a host of clear-cut chances and hitting the woodwork twice. Nonetheless, chances are that the players will be buoyed by such a good performance against a team that are tied on points with El Clasico rivals in La Liga, and they can be trusted to build on that display when they take on Sampdoria. Chances are the visitors will be without Mario Balotelli, but Giampaolo Pazzini can certainly be trusted to do a good job up front, whereas the return of Riccardo Montolivo and Keisuke Honda could be just the boost the Rossoneri need to return to winning ways.

Mario Balotelli and Mattia De Sciglio are out with shoulder and ankle injury respectively, but Riccardo Montolivo and Keisuke Honda return from European suspension.

Verdict

A 3-0 defeat at Stadio Olimpico and absence of three important players is likely to damage Sampdoria’s chances of getting something from this game, whereas AC Milan look they can win at Marassi following such an impressive showing against Atletico Madrid.

Top pick: Milan Draw no bet   1.67 (2/3) @ BetVictor

Alternative pick 1: Milan to score two or more   2.62 (13/8) @ Coral

Alternative pick 2: Away win   2.40 (7/5) @ William Hill