Sampdoria vs Pescara Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Pescara’s big revival lasted a week, following their first home victory of the season. After thumping Genoa 5-0, they slumped to a 2-0 defeat against Chievo last weekend. That loss left them bottom of the pile in Italy, and they remain a huge 10 points from safety. It’s difficult to see how the Delfini can beat the drop at this late stage in the campaign. The return of former manager Zdenek Zeman inspired a lot of hope, can the Czech lead them to a late season flourish? They may not survive, but they can at least go down fighting.

Zeman’s side travel to face a Sampdoria team who are aiming to secure a top 10 finish in Serie A. They’re currently just inside the top half, although there are a few teams breathing down their neck. The hosts have now gone five games unbeaten in the league, but they are a side who tend to perform in short bursts. Despite their patchy record in the league, Samp have put together a solid home record. The Blucerchiati have won 54% of their games at the Luigi Ferraris, scoring in 77% of them.

The hosts should be able to continue that record this weekend, as they face a Pescara side who are awful on their travels. Ignoring a victory by default over Sassuolo, the Delfini have drawn two and lost 10 of their matches away from home this season. They’ve conceded in every game on the road, outside of the 3-0 win they were awarded against Sassuolo. The visitors aren’t just conceding one per match, they’ve let in a goal in each half in 54% of their trips so far.

Pescara have at least got a decent scoring record on their travels, hitting six goals in their last six away matches. That should give the Delfini some joy here, given that Samp have managed just one clean sheet in their last seven games. The hosts have been quite goal friendly of late, with four of their last five matches seeing both teams score, along with their last three at home. The Blucerchiati have seen both teams find the net in 65% of their Serie A matches so far, including the first meeting between these two this term.

We’re expecting quite a few goals for the hosts, who have conceded 25 times in their last nine away matches. The Delfini also average 2.31 goals against on their travels. Given that poor defensive record, it should be no surprise that the visitors are regularly involved in high scoring encounters. Pescara have seen over 2.5 goals in 69% of their away trips, and in seven of their last eight league games. On top of that, 75% of their meetings here since 1999 have seen over 2.5 goals. That has us backing both teams to score and over 2.5, which is priced at 10/11 with bet365.