Serie A Preview: Sampdoria - Genoa

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Antonio Cassano of Sampdoria and Genoa's Diego Milito - The stars of thederby della Lanterna

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Sampdoria and Genoa square off on Sunday night in what will be the 98th Derby della Lanterna. The Doria have hit their stride in Serie A over the past few weeks and now lie in 15th place, with a game in hand. Last Sunday the Grifoni wasted a golden opportunity to catch up with Napoli in the table, but are nonetheless just two points adrift of a Champions League spot.

Looking For The Real Samp

The Sampdoriani's topsy-turvy season continued relentlessly in midweek as they crashed to a dismal defeat in the UEFA Cup that has considerably hurt their qualification chances.

Belgian outfit Standard Liege made light work of Walter Mazzarri's men as they wrapped things up before half-time to seal a 3-0 win.

It is true that the former Reggina boss fielded a second-string side and the Derby was probably already on their minds, but one wonders whether such a heavy score-line will affect the squad in the lead-up to the big match with the Genoani.

The Blucerchiati have just recently started picking up speed on the domestic front, with three victories out of their last five outings, but are still hovering dangerously above the relegation zone after miserably losing away to Cagliari last week.

This inconsistency has been following the Ligurians since the start of the campaign, as they have an unbeaten home record, but have yet to claim the full points on their travels.

The battle to secure Genova's bragging rights could well define their season once and for all: will they get out of their funk and repeat last term's achievements or will they be facing a relegation dogfight in a few months?

El Principe To Emulate Skuhravy?

Gian Piero Gasperini's men were stopped in their tracks by Bologna last weekend just as they were about to celebrate their seventh consecutive home victory of the season, which would have seen them leapfrog Lazio and Fiorentina into fourth place.

Instead, Marco Di Vaio popped up to head in an equaliser that brought to a sudden halt their 100 per cent home record.

Nonetheless, their European ambitions are certainly still intact and they go into this Derby in high spirits, hoping to finally down the Doriani in Serie A after over 13 years.

In fact, the Grifoni last claimed the spoils in the top flight on April 30, 1995. After David Platt opened the scoring, John Van't Schip and Czech star Tomas Skuhravy turned the game around in 10 minutes.

That was a futile triumph, though, as they were relegated at the end of the season and had only faced their archrivals in the Second Division and the Coppa Italia until last term's encounters.

Antonio Cassano stole the show in both meetings and led Samp to victory in the return fixture, but Genoa can now count on Argentine striker Diego Milito. He does not do somersaults like Skuhravy did, but a winner on Sunday would definitely make the entire Gradinata Nord roll over.

FORM GUIDE

Sampdoria

03 December (UEFA Cup): Standard Liege 3-0 Sampdoria
30 November (Serie A): Cagliari 1-0 Sampdoria
27 November (UEFA Cup): Sampdoria 1-1 VfB Stuttgart
23 November (Serie A): Sampdoria 3-0 Catania
16 November (Serie A): Sampdoria 3-2 Lecce

Genoa

30 November (Serie A): Genoa 1-1 Bologna  
23 November (Serie A): Lazio 1-1 Genoa
13 November (Serie A): Juventus 4-1 Genoa
09 November (Serie A): Genoa 4-0 Reggina
02 November (Serie A): Udinese 2-2 Genoa

Last season: Sampdoria 0-0 Genoa

TEAM NEWS

Sampdoria

Midfielder Angelo Palombo did not play in the UEFA Cup tie with Standard and is in doubt for the clash with the Genoani. The only certain absentee will be second-choice goalkeeper Antonio Mirante, who is likely to return to action in January.

Uruguayan starlet Bruno Fornaroli was handed a rare start on Wednesday night, but his performance was once again disappointing, hence hitman Claudio Bellucci is expected to retain his place up front.

Possible Formation (3-5-2): Castellazzi; Campagnaro, Lucchini, Accardi; Stankevicius, Delvecchio, Palombo, Sammarco, Pieri; Cassano, Bellucci.

Genoa

Andrea Gasbarroni picked up an ankle sprain during a friendly at the Grifoni training ground and is unlikely to recover in time, but former Reggina man Francesco Modesto is back at Gasperini's disposal.

Ex-Juventus man Matteo Paro is a long-term absentee after damaging knee ligaments and Uruguayan midfield man Marcel Roman is also out for a month with a thigh muscle strain.

Possible Formation (3-4-3): Rubinho; Biava, Ferrari, Criscito; Rossi, Motta, Juric, Vanden Borre; Sculli, Palladino, Milito.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Antonio Cassano (Sampdoria)

All eyes will undeniably be on Fantantonio on Sunday night. He has a vast experience in local clashes, having featured in both the Rome derby and the Madrid one. He was inspirational last term against the Rossoblù and led his side to a hard-fought 1-0 away win, providing winger Christian Maggio with the decisive assist after a mazy run on the left flank.

Diego Milito (Genoa)

El Principe unusually misfired last week and wasted a glaring chance at the death to edge the Grifoni past Bologna. But the Serie A capocannoniere will certainly rise to the occasion in the grudge stracittadina with heated rivals Sampdoria, hoping to finally impress Argentina boss Diego Armando Maradona, who overlooked him for the friendly with Scotland last month.

PREDICTION

This clash could turn out to be a tight affair: Genoa are in great form, but have a rather poor away record so far and have not 'conquered' Marassi since the 1990-91 season. On the other hand, Sampdoria will want to make amends after the trashing suffered in the UEFA Cup, but could fall victim to the typical tension that envelops every Derby della Lanterna.

Sampdoria 1-1 Genoa

Vince Masiello, Goal.com