Sampdoria vs. Napoli preview

By: Neil | April 2nd, 2009

Lavezzi is out for the Samp game with a left bicep injury he picked up while on international duty with Argentina. He will likely be replaced by Andrea Russotto, who could earn his first start in a Napoli jersey. Can anyone remember the last time, if ever, Russotto made the starting lineup? Other absences include Blasi (5 yellows) and Iezzo, Maggio and Gargano, who are all gone for the season.

The last nine games are a great opportunity for players like Navarro, Pazienza, and Datolo to prove their quality. With a restructuring almost certain to take place in the summer, now is the time for fringe players to step up and win a place on next year’s team. I’d even like to see Luigi Sepe get another game, one where he doesn’t have to come in as an emergency sub against Fiorentina.

Sampdoria are just one point behind Napoli in the standings, but they’re one of Serie A’s hottest teams. The arrival of striker Giampaolo Pazzini from Fiorentina has seen their campaign completely turned around. The combination of Pazzini and Cassano has been deadly, and Pazzini has scored eight goals in eight games since joining Samp! He also scored his first international goal in last week’s 2-0 win over Montenegro. However, Pazzini will be suspended for his next international game after being harshly sent off in Italy’s 1-1 draw with the Republic of Ireland. Since the arrival of Pazzini Sampdoria’s record is 3-4-1, with a victory against Milan and draws with Juve and Roma. The one loss in that run was a 3-0 defeat away to Bologna.

A couple of Napoli players saw international action recently. Slovakia’s Marek Hamsik played last Saturday in a friendly against England, and again in a WC qualifier on Wednesday against Czech Republic. Slovakia upset the Czechs 2-1 in Prague, and have a great chance of reaching South Africa with four wins from five qualifiers. Santacroce also played for the U-21s in a friendly against the Netherlands.

This game should be just as fun to watch as the Milan game. Unfortunately, I’m going to miss it because I’ll be Dallas all weekend. This week I’ve been a little busy preparing for the trip, so this preview is a bit thin. But then again so is Napoli’s lineup for Sunday. I don’t know if I’ll have any kind of game report, but I’ll do a post on Tuesday with some comments and whatever else needs to be updated.

Napoli possible lineup: Navarro – Santacroce, Cannavaro, Contini – Grava, Montervino, Pazienza, Hamsik, Mannini – Zalayeta, Russotto

Wow. That lineup looks even worse than I thought. Maybe Datolo will get a chance somewhere in the midfield? I’d be happy with a draw given it’s a road game and Samp is on fire. The week after Napoli is back at the San Paolo against Atalanta, which seems to me a better candidate for the Don’s first win.