Preview: Sampdoria vs. Cagliari - prediction, team news, lineups

Sampdoria host Cagliari on Sunday evening and will looking to return to winning ways, having failed to win any of their last three Serie A matches.

Meanwhile, the visitors have won their first two games with new manager Leonardo Semplici at the helm and are hoping to claim their second victory of the season against I Blucerchiati this weekend.

Match preview

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Despite claiming only one victory from their last six Serie A matches, Sampdoria have spent the last seven weeks in 10th place.

A 1-1 draw in the Derby della Lanterna against rivals Genoa on Wednesday prevented I Blucerchiati from losing three successive league matches, with Lorenzo Tonelli scoring a late equaliser.

Sampdoria are eight points better off than they they were at this stage of last season and with 11 points separating them from the bottom three, Claudio Ranieri's side should have confidence that they can stay clear of any potential relegation battle.

Sunday's hosts have won five of their last six top-flight home games against Cagliari, although the Islanders came out on top earlier this season, winning 2-0 in November.

After an inconsistent campaign so far, Ranieri will be hoping that his side can put together a positive run of form that will move them above their current league position, where they have finished in two of the last four seasons.

Victory against Cagliari this weekend would be Sampdoria's sixth league win at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium this term and Ranieri's 20th Serie A win in charge of I Blucerchiati.

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Cagliari's hopes of survival were handed a major boost last week as they secured successive league wins for the first time since October, when a 2-0 victory over basement club Crotone was followed by a narrow 1-0 win at home to Bologna on Wednesday.

New head coach Semplici has had an instant impact since replacing Eusebio Di Francesco just under two weeks ago, with the Islanders looking more organised defensively and a greater threat going forward.

Cagliari's fifth win of the campaign in midweek saw them move out of the relegation zone for the first time in six weeks, and they now sit just one place and one point above Torino, who have two games in hand.

After winning two of their last three league games against Sampdoria, including the victory in November's meeting, Semplici's side should travel to northern Italy with confidence and believing that they can continue their winning run and move further away from danger.

The Sardinian outfit have, however, won just three times on the road since the start of 2020 and last defeated Sampdoria on their own turf back in October 2012.

Claiming their third successive Serie A victory for the first time since November 2019 could see Cagliari move one point behind Spezia, Benevento and Fiorentina, with fixtures against all three teams still to come later this campaign.

Team News

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Sampdoria are still without forward Ernesto Torregrossa, who is nursing a calf injury, while winger Mikkel Damsgaard and midfielder Morten Thorsby are both doubts after suffering with a fever.

Experienced striker and top goalscorer Fabio Quagliarella is set to lead the line once again, with Keita Balde likely to feature alongside him in a two-man attack.

For Cagliari, midfielder Marko Rog (anterior cruciate ligament) and winger Riccardo Sottil (thigh) remain long-term absentees, while both Giovanni Simeone and Daniele Rugani are suffering with bruised thighs and are doubtful for Sunday's match.

Charalampos Lykogiannis is back from his one-match suspension and is set to start at left-back, which is likely to see Nahitan Nandez return to a more familiar role in central midfield.

Sampdoria possible starting lineup:
Audero; Bereszynski, Tonelli, Colley, Augello; Candreva, Silva, Ekdal, Jankto; Keita, Quagliarella

Cagliari possible starting lineup:
Cragno; Zappa, Godin, Klavan, Lykogiannis; Marin; Nandez, Duncan; Nainggolan; Pedro, Simeone

We say: Sampdoria 1-1 Cagliari

Three of Sampdoria's five home Serie A wins have come against sides in the bottom half of the table this season, and the hosts will fancy their chances of claiming three points against another struggling side on Sunday.

However, the upturn in form for Cagliari in the last week has given them belief that they can survive the drop and secure more points on their travels this weekend. With little to separate the two sides, a score draw could be on the cards at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium.