Sampdoria vs Napoli Predictions

• Napoli suffered their first defeat of the Serie A season against Inter Milan last time out, having won each of their previous 11 games.
• Sampdoria, meanwhile, have lost four of their last five league matches, though they beat Sassuolo on Wednesday.
• Napoli have won six of their eight away league games this campaign, scoring 16 goals.
• Sampdoria have failed to score in four of their last five games, losing the same amount by two goals or more.

Leaders look to bounce back

Napoli’s momentum appeared unstoppable when Serie A broke for the World Cup break, with Luciano Spalletti’s side winning 11 consecutive games – while scoring 27 times – to built an eight-point lead at the summit. However, Wednesday’s defeat at Inter Milan – their first of the league season – puts them under pressure ahead of Sunday’s trip to struggling Sampdoria. This represents the first chance to see how Napoli react to adversity, but most would expect them to fare well.

Despite Wednesday’s defeat at Inter – a game in which Napoli had more possession, attempts and shots on target, the statistics look ominous for any would-be challengers to Napoli. No Serie A team can match them for goals scored (37), expected goals (30.5), shots (278) or shots on target (91) this campaign, and they have scored multiple goals in all but three of their last 15 games in all competitions – 18^th-placed Samp must be wary.

Sampdoria’s 2-1 win over Sassuolo last time out represented just their second of the season, with Dejan Stankovic’s men losing each of their previous four league games to nil, all by more than a one-goal margin. While Samp are the league’s lowest scorers with eight goals, only Verona (30) have conceded more often in Serie A this term, and despite their positive return to league action, they look unlikely to trouble Napoli.

Partenopei to bust handicap once again

Napoli have won each of their last seven games against Sampdoria, five of them to nil and the same amount by more than one goal. Despite the sides’ midweek results, backing normal service to resume with the leaders to beat a -1 handicap appears prudent.

Meanwhile, with Sampdoria scoring just two goals in their eight home Serie A games this season – winning none, a 3-0 away win may offer correct score value.

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