Napoli-Sampdoria is a match of the thirty-eighth day of Serie A and is played on Sunday at 18:30: formations, predictions, TV and streaming.
On the final day of Serie A 2022-23, the most classic of head-to-heads takes place, when the verdicts have almost already been handed down. Napoli celebrated the Scudetto’s arithmetic a month ago, while Sampdoria, long since stuck in last place in the standings, said their goodbyes to the top flight a few weeks ago.
For the Neapolitan city it will inevitably be another day of great celebration. The match against the Blucerchiati is nothing less than the occasion to lift the Scudetto cup – the third in the club’s history, the first since the Maradona era – during the eagerly awaited ceremony that will be staged at the final whistle by referee Feliciani, complete with the presentation of medals and trophy. In the meantime, Napoli are already looking to the future after the departure of Luciano Spalletti, one of the main architects of the Azzurri’s amazing ride, which was also confirmed by president Aurelio De Laurentiis last Sunday at the end of the match against Bologna. For days now, the toto-nomi on who could be the successor of the Tuscan coach, who apparently intends to take a sabbatical year. Since the magical night in Udine, meanwhile, Napoli have had mixed results. At home they have beaten Fiorentina and Inter, while away they lost at Monza and drew at Bologna (2-2) after going ahead by two goals.
Samp haven’t won in Naples since 1998
Sampdoria, relegated to the cadetteria after little more than a decade, will be spectators at the Neapolitan celebration. But the Blucerchiati fans have just breathed a big sigh of relief: the long-awaited transfer of ownership has taken place – the club has been bought by the current president of Leeds Andrea Radrizzani – which averts the possibility of bankruptcy.
Quagliarella embraced by teammates
Now we can look to the future with optimism, waiting to see who to start from in order to aim for an immediate return to Serie A. Meanwhile, the agony is coming to an end for Dejan Stankovic’s men, who have recorded two positive results in the last three days, drawing at home against Empoli (1-1) and Sassuolo (2-2). Sampdoria, who at the ‘Maradona’ will aim to break the negative away series: away from the Marassi Gabbiadini and his companions have always lost in the last three days. However, the Ligurian side’s past record against the partenopei is not a comforting one, as they have been losing to Napoli for eight games and have not beaten the Fuorigrotta stadium since 1998.
Napoli v Sampdoria: latest line-up news
There are several ballots in the Napoli squad, with Spalletti looking to give everyone some space. Only Lozano is unavailable, while Politano is not at his best and Elmas could make way in the attacking trident. In defence Juan Jesus will take the place of the disqualified Kim, while on the left the restored Mario Rui will be back, due to Olivera’s muscle problems.
Sampdoria will not have the long-suffering Pussetto, Conti and Audero at Stankovic’s disposal, and Cuisance is also likely to be absent. In goal it is a duel between Ravaglia and Turk, in attack instead the Serbian coach is thinking of giving a starting shirt to De Luca.
The prediction
There seems to be every chance of a wide win for Napoli, with Spalletti doing all he can to greet his fans with success. The best attack against the worst defence says a lot about the possible script of the match: Osimhen will also be hungry for goals, as he has scored more goals (25) than the entire Blucerchiato attack, the least prolific in the league.
Napoli v Sampdoria matchday squad
- NAPOLI (4-3-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Juan Jesus, Mario Rui; Zambo Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Elmas, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia.
- SAMPDORIA (3-5-2): Ravaglia; Günter, Nuytinck, Amione; Zanoli, Leris, Ilkhan, Paoletti, Augello; De Luca, Gabbiadini.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 3-1
