Sampdoria vs Inter Milan: Match Preview

Fresh off the highs of beating Atalanta and Milan back to back, Inter now looks to stabilize its form against the lower half of the Serie A table. The Nerazzurri’s inconsistency since the new year has come in large part thanks to its shaky form against smaller sides, dropping points to both Monza and Empoli. A trip to Sampdoria is a chance at putting those doubts to bed for Simone Inzaghi’s men, but the Blucerchiati won’t make it easy for the good guys.

Photo by Francesco Scaccianoce/Getty Images

Sampdoria currently sits 19th out of 20 in the table, mired on 10 points, eight short of safety. Marco Giampaolo was the man in charge at the beginning of the season but was quickly replaced by our old friend Dejan Stankovic. The Serbian has proved unable to conjure up magic and turn Sampdoria’s collection of castaways and misfits into a Serie A level team. It's won just two games all season and threw away all three points in a 2-2 draw last week at Monza after conceding a 99th-minute penalty equalizer. You’d have to go back to Samp’s first game of 2023, a 2-1 win over Sassuolo, to find its most recent victory.

Sampdoria’s attack is its most glaring weakness - through far from its only. The Blucerchiati have scored a mere 10 goals in 21 games, led by Manolo Gabbiadini with 4 strikes - unsurprisingly the worst tally in the league by far. Its defense is only marginally better, with 36 conceded (3rd worst). This all comes after another busy past few transfer markets, in which no less than 6 new starters have arrived in Genoa. Nonetheless, Sampdoria’s spiral is only worsening and relegation is about to become a reality at the Luigu Ferrari for the second season in a row.

Photo by Mattia Ozbot - Inter/Inter via Getty Images

Inter’s win against Milan gave it some breathing room on the chasing pack in the battle for the top four, but it can ill afford any more slip-ups with only four points separating it from sixth place. The Nerazzurri’s upcoming clashes with Sampdoria and Udinese offer it the chance of lengthening its winning streak before the UCL Round of 16 rolls around, but Inter has shown this season that the game is never won on paper.

Previous Results

• 3-0 (H), 29/10/22

Inter has a 77W-43D-24L advantage in the all-time series against Sampdoria, including back-to-back 3-0 victories in the last two meetings.

Predicted Starting XIs

Prediction: Sampdoria 0-2 Inter Milan

Samp will make Inter work for it, but in the end, the Nerazzurri will take home all three points thanks to a second-half Lautaro Martinez brace.