Fiorentina vs Sampdoria prediction, preview, team news and more | Serie A 2020-21
The Stadio Artemio Franchi, Fiorentina's home stadium, will play host to struggling Sampdoria over the weekend in what promises to be an intriguing Serie A fixture.
Fiorentina should fancy their chances against Claudio Ranieri's men, despite the late wobble against Inter Milan in their previous game.
The Viola were within three minutes away from a famous win against Antonio Conte's side but capitulated to a late defeat. They will be keen to bounce back and inflict more misery on Ranieri's men, who have looked disenfranchised in their two defeats so far this season.
Fiorentina vs Sampdoria Head-to-Head
The two sides have done battle 133 times, dating back to 1946. Fiorentina have a slight edge over their opponents, picking up wins in 48 of those encounters as opposed to Sampdoria's 36 victories.
They have played out a draw on 49 occasions.
The statistics over the last 10 games between the two sides are a little more skewed towards Giuseppe Iachini's men. Fiorentina have only lost two of those 10 encounters. They have won three times but the two sides have drawn five times.
Importantly though, Fiorentina did the double over Sampdoria in the 2019-20 Serie A season.
Fiorentina form guide: L-W-W-W-W
Sampdoria form guide: L-L-W-W-D
Fiorentina vs Sampdoria Team News
Fiorentina
Fiorentina won't be looking to make too many changes to the side that pushed Antonio Conte's Inter Milan to the brink.
However, a return for centre-back Germán Pezzella could be on the cards after his recovery from an ankle injury.
The side will take heart from the performance against Inter Milan which saw Franck Ribery, Christian Kouame and Federico Chiesa all perform admirably.
Kouame continued his fine pre-season scoring form with an early goal but it was Ribery's defence-splitting assist to Federico Chiesa that made the highlight reel.
On form 23-year-old midfielder Gaetano Castrovili will also be looking trouble Sampdoria after he managed to score in both of Fiorentina's fixtures so far.
Injured: Erick Pulgar
Sampdoria
Claudio Ranieri's side have lost both their Serie A games so far this season and have conceded five goals in the process.
While the 3-0 loss to champions Juventus could be chalked up to an obvious difference in quality and the presence of a certain Portuguese marksman, the 3-2 reverse to newly promoted Benevento is bound to rankle.
The Blucerchiati appeared devoid of any creative spark in their games despite relatively high-profile additions in Antonio Candreva and Keita Balde.
However, they will not be able to call upon the services of the Senegalese winger after he tested positive for COVID-19 while performing his club medical.
The likes of veteran Fabio Quagliarella and Antonio Candreva will have to bear the burden of creativity in this game.
Unavailable: Keita Balde Diao (COVID-19)
Injured: Felice D'Amico
Fiorentina vs Sampdoria Predicted Lineups
Fiorentina (3-5-2): Bartłomiej Drągowski; Martin Caceras, German Pezzella, Nicola Milenkovic; Federico Chiesa, Giacomo Bonaventura, Sofyan Amrabat, Gaetano Castrovilli, Cristiano Biraghi; Franck Ribery, Christian Kouame
Sampdoria (4-4-2): Emil Audero; Bartosz Bereszyński, Lorenzo Tonelli, Omar Colley, Tommaso Augello; Antonio Candreva, Albin Ekdal, Morten Thorsby, Jakub Jantko; Fabio Quagliarella, Federico Bonazzolli
Fiorentina vs Sampdoria Prediction
Claudio Ranieri's men should be focusing on shoring up their defence and preventing Fiorentina from getting in behind them.
Doing that would also enable the team to play on the counter attack, something the former Premier League-winning coach specialises at.
However, the Viola are in too good a nick to slip up against struggling Sampdoria. Expect Franck Ribery and Federico Chiesa's quality to shine through.
Fabio Quagliarella may also have a say in proceedings though, but it likely won't be enough to get Sampdoria over the line.
Prediction: Fiorentina 3 - 1 Sampdoria