Napoli vs Sampdoria Betting: Serie A history beckons for Fabio Quagliarella

A place in history is on the line for Sampdoria striker Fabio Quagliarella looks to become the first player ever to score in 12 consecutive Serie A games in the same season.

The experienced forward had only scored two goals after nine games but a strike against AC Milan on October 28 began the 11-game run, during which he has scored 14 times.

Quagliarella is joint-holder of the record alongside legendary striker Gabriel Batistuta and bet365 make it a 7/4 (2.75) shot that the Italian makes it 12 games in a row with a goal at Napoli on Saturday.

Batistuta managed the feat back in 1994 with Fiorentina and actually scored in 13 straight top-flight matches, although that was achieved by scoring in the final two games of the 1992/93 season and the first 11 of 1994-95 after he spent the previous campaign in Serie B.

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Sampdoria recorded a 3-0 win in the reverse fixture back in September – during which Quagliarella scored – and having lost just one of their last nine, will be hopeful of taking at least a point home.

Napoli have kept just one clean sheet in their last four games and conceded two goals at home to relegation-threatened Bologna on December 29, so may struggle to stop a striker in red-hot form.

During his astonishing run, the 36-year-old has opened the scoring in four games and can be backed at 13/2 (7.50) to do so again.

It is worth noting, though, that Napoli have conceded the first goal at home just twice this season in Serie A whilst Sampdoria have opened the scoring only four times in 11 away matches.

Confidence is sure to be coursing through the veins of Quagliarella, not least because he has scored twice in each of his last two games, and another brace is available at a tempting 10/1 (11.0).

A hat-trick at Stadio San Paolo would see him match his best ever goalscoring season, set last year when he netted 19 goals, and bet365 make that a 50/1 (51.0) chance.

That would mark the fourth treble of his Serie A career and his first in the tournament since January 21 2018. It would also mean Quagliarella has the same amount of Italian top-flight hat-tricks as such legends like Christian Vieri and Alessandro Del Piero.

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