Sampdoria remained well clear of the relegation zone as they shared spoils with Fiorentina, and the Blucerchiati face another difficult game. Inter, on the other hand, are looking to make amends for the Champions League defeat to Bayer, as well as close the gap behind leaders Milan.

Sampdoria struggling without Cassano

The second part of the season is showing just how much Antonio Cassano meant for this team with Sampdoria’s downtrend in form coinciding with Fantantonio’s move to Milan. Having sold Giampaolo Pazzini as well, it is little wonder Samp largely struggle in the second part of the season and they should be happy if they manage to avoid the relegation struggle. Federico Macheda, Massimo Maccarone and Jonathan Biabiany have increased competition for places, but they will definitely need some more time to gel with their new teammates. As a result, the Blucerchiati have lost five out of their last seven games, meaning they enter the Inter match very low on confidence. After losing to bitter rivals Genoa, Sampdoria managed to bring one point from Florence but they will have to show a massive improvement in order to get something from this match.

Federico Macheda will return to the side but only to start from the bench, with Massimo Maccarone set to start as a lonely striker. Franco Semioli, Fernando Tissone and Nicola Pozzi remain on the sidelines.

Pazzini returns to Marassi

Inter recovered well from the defeat to Juve, and they returned to the title race with victories over Fiorentina and Cagliari, but the Neroazzurri were dealt with a major blow to their Champions League title ambitions having lost at home to Bayern. Nevertheless, Leonardo will be able to take a lot of positives from that game as his side looked pretty good at times and missed a couple of great chances to take the lead before allowing Bayern to profit on their defensive mistake. The game against Sampdoria is a great chance for Inter to return to the right track and at the same time close the gap behind Milan and Napoli, before the two teams meet at Giuseppe Meazza on Monday. After beating Fiorentina in their last away games, Inter will fancy their chances against struggling Sampdoria.

Leonardo faces a major selection headache with Esteban Cambiasso and Andrea Ranochia joining the lengthy injury list that already consisted of Milito and Samuel. Maicon misses out through suspension, but the main thing is that attacking trio of Sneijder, Eto’o and Pazzini is fit to play.

Verdict

Sampdoria have been on the downtrend ever since Cassano and Pazzini left, and they don’t look capable of stopping Inter from winning this game. The Neroazzurri played well against Bayern and they are unlikely to miss the chance to close the gap behind their title rivals.

Our prediction: Away win

Odds: 2.05 (21/20)

Bookmaker: Titan Bet