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Serie A Preview: Atalanta – Sampdoria

What: Serie A, Matchday 6
Who: Atalanta v Sampdoria
When: Sunday, 5th October 2008, 1500 CET
Where: Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia, Bergamo

Oct 3, 2008 6:22:30 AM

Cristiano Doni & Simone Padoin, Atalanta, Atalanta-Siena (Foto Grazia Neri)

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Cristiano Doni & Simone Padoin, Atalanta, Atalanta-Siena (Foto Grazia Neri)

Teams

Atalanta and Sampdoria will face each other in the 6th matchday of Serie A at the Atleti Azzurri d’Italia stadium of Bergamo in what promises to be one of the most balanced encounters of this round.

After a brilliant start to the season, the Nerazzurri are coming from two consecutive defeats in Rome, against Roma and Lazio respectively in Serie A and the Coppa Italia. Could this mean that their fairytale is over, or they just encountered two teams at the wrong moment?

A lot will be revealed this from clash which will either confirm the Bergamaschi’s downtrend or prove that they are still a very good team despite the latest setbacks. What is certain is that whatever the score, it will not cancel out their first four matchdays in the Italian top flight.

On the other hand Sampdoria could be reaching their top form after holding Juventus to a goalless draw - and probably deserving more – and qualifying to the next round of the Uefa Cup thanks to their double header against Kaunas.

In fact, the Doriani have yet to register their first league win as they have accumulated just four draws and one defeat. The quality of the team is high, therefore it will probably be a matter of time before they manage to step up, but it might be too late eventually to reach their season objectives.

Bad news also arrived from the dressing room as one of their main stars, Palombo got injured in the match against Juventus and will be out for some weeks. A big blow for both the club and the player, who was expected to be called-up by Marcello Lippi for the forthcoming international games.

Past Encounters

There have been many head-to-heads between Atalanta and Sampdoria at the Atleti Azzurri d'Italia stadium in the past years. The most recent clash was played in February of this year and ended with an easy 4-1 win for the home team.

The last Blucerchiati's win dates back to 1997, when the visitors managed to impose themselves with a 2-0 win. Most matches between the two teams have always ended in a high-scoring result, with the last four games played at Bergamo averaging four goals per game.

FORM GUIDE

Atalanta
Oct 01 Lazio 2-0 Atalanta (COPPA ITALIA)
Sep 28 Roma 2-0 Atalanta (SERIE A)
Sep 24 Atalanta 1-0 Cagliari (SERIE A)
Sep 20 Catania 1-0 Atalanta (SERIE A)
Sep 15 Bologna 0-1 Atalanta (SERIE A)

Sampdoria
Oct 02 Kaunas 1-2 Sampdoria (UEFA CUP)
Sep 27 Sampdoria 0-0 Juventus (SERIE A)
Sep 24 Siena 0-0 Sampdoria (SERIE A)
Sep 20 Sampdoria 1-1 Chievo Verona (SERIE A)
Sep 15 Sampdoria 5-0 Kaunas (UEFA CUP)

TEAM NEWS

Atalanta
Vieri, Bonaventura, Cissé and Valdes will not be part of this match due to injuries, but at least Delneri does not have any suspended players. Cigarini will miss the next encounter if he is shown the yellow card in this game.

Probable Starting XI (4-4-1-1): Coppola, Garics, Talamonti, Manfredini, Bellini, Ferreira Pinto, Cigarini, Guarente, Padoin, Doni, Floccari

Sampdoria
Campagnaro and Palombo are the only missing players for Mazzarri, as they are both injured. No player is suspended and no player is carrying a yellow card into this game.

Probable Starting XI (3-5-1-1): Mirante, Lucchini, Gastaldello, Accardi, Stankevicius, Sammarco, Dessena, Franceschini, Pieri, Delvecchio, Cassano

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Atalanta
Doni has yet to score a goal this season, and what better occasion than his former side? Even though he is not as decisive as last season, the midfielder is still an important element of Delneri's team.

Sampdoria
Despite playing brilliantly in this early part of the season, Cassano's qualities have not yet helped the Blucerchiati to change gear and move up the standings. Eventually the points will arrive and Cassano will need to be at his best to help his squad out of this situation.

PREDICTION

Atalanta’s fire might be dwindling as Sampdoria needs to re-light theirs. Following their qualification to the next round of the Uefa Cup, the Doriani will be fully motivated to get back on track in Serie A too.

Atalanta 1-2 Sampdoria

Glenn Debattista

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