On Saturday, October 17, 2020, the Stadio Luigi Ferraris hosts Sampdoria vs Lazio in Matchday 4 of the 2020/21 Serie A.
The Head Referee for this clash will be Daniele Orsato, the Assistant Referees will be Meli and Bresmes, the Fourth Official will be Giua, and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) will be Massa with the assistance of Alassio.
In the 108 times that Sampdoria and Lazio have played each other in Serie A, the Biancocelesti have won on 51 occasions, the Blucerchiati have won on 26 occasions, and there have been 31 draws. At the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Lazio have won 19 times, Sampdoria have won 18 times, and there have been 17 draws.
As it stands in the top flight of Italian football, the Biancocelesti sit in ninth with a record of 1W-1D-1L (4 points), while the Blucerchiati sit in fourteenth with a record of 1W-0D-2L (3 points).
Expected Starting Lineups
Sampdoria (4-4-2): Audero; Bereszynski, Tonelli, Yoshida, Augello; Candreva, Thorsby, Ekdal, Jankto; Ramirez, Quagliarella.
- Unavailable: Gabbiadini
- Disqualified: –
- One Yellow Card Away From Suspension: –
Lazio (3-5-2): Strakosha; Patric, Acerbi, Hoedt; Djavan Anderson, Milinkovic-Savic, Lucas Leiva, Luis Alberto, Parolo; Correa, Caicedo.
- Unavailable: Proto, Radu, Luiz Felipe, Lulic, Lazzari, Bastos, Marusic
- Disqualified: Immobile
- One Yellow Card Away From Suspension: –
Prediction
This match takes place after Lazio tied 1-1 against Inter Milan in Rome. This was a result that the Biancocelesti will be pleased with as they played good defensively and limited Inter’s chances. They had a difficult task at hand for the majority of the game as Stefan Radu, Adam Marusic and Bastos all exited with injuries before halftime. Simone Inzaghi was in a predicament as he lost two centre backs and had to resort to Marco Parolo in that role to start the second half. At the half-hour mark, Inter opened the score as Lautaro Martinez capitalized on Inter’s first quality chance. Off a deflection from Lucas Leiva inside the goal area, the ball redirected right toward the Argentine and he made no mistake beating Thomas Strakosha and scoring his third goal this season. However, Inter failed to extend their lead as Romelu Lukaku and Martinez squandered two clear chances in the first five minutes of the second half. After their missed opportunities, the match started to tilt in Lazio’s favour. The Biancocelesti scored minutes later and capitalized to tie the match. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic once again delivered in a pivotal match for Lazio. The Serbian made his run down the right side into the box and positioned himself behind Ivan Perisic. Francesco Acerbi delivered a beautiful cross into the goal area and the midfielder headed the ball towards the right post and into the back of the goal. This is how this game would end as neither side were able to convert on their chances afterwards. There was late drama in this match as Ciro Immobile and Arturo Vidal got into a heated event which resulted in the Italian being sent off with a red card. He will miss this upcoming match versus Sampdoria. Right before injury time, Inter were on the opposite end as Stefano Sensi was sent off with a red card for his infraction with Patric. Nonetheless, this was a game in which Lazio overcame plenty of adversity, and they will head into their match against Sampdoria with plenty of confidence.
In Sampdoria’s recent match against Fiorentina, Fabio Quagliarella scored his second goal this season to open the score in the first half. The Italian converted from the spot to give his side their first lead in the match. Fiorentina had an impressive start to the match as they had plenty of chances to score throughout the game, yet Cristian Kouame failed to convert when the opportunities were present to the striker. As the game progressed, Sampdoria started to look much better and more involved in the game. Late in the second half, Nikola Milenkovic delivered an accurate pass towards Dusan Vlahovic who was left unmarked in the box and scored to tie the game at 1-1. The tie was short-lived as Sampdoria once again regained the lead. With the game nearing injury time, goalkeeper Emil Audero did a great job of advancing the ball upfield towards Valerio Verre and timed his run to perfection. He chipped his shot over goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski who was caught off his line and out of position. Sampdoria regained their lead and this goal stood as the decisive winner which gave them their first win this season.
While Lazio have started their Serie A season looking dangerous at times on the attack, they have shown weaknesses in the backend. They will enter their match with plenty of injuries yet this should not be an excuse. The Biancocelesti have the personnel to compete against Sampdoria and shouldn’t be taken lightly as they looked convincingly strong as the game progressed versus Fiorentina. Nonetheless, this should be an entertaining affair between two sides who have shown to score goals this season.
