After pulling the plug on their coach after another setback last week, Sampdoria travel to Stadio Renato Dall'Ara on Saturday, where they take on fellow strugglers Bologna.
While Samp remain winless, and therefore rooted to the foot of the Serie A standings, their hosts have already made a managerial change of their own - but to little effect so far.
Match preview
© Reuters
After a 3-0 humbling at the hands of promoted Monza last weekend, the Sampdoria board moved to sack Marco Giampaolo, whose second spell at the club ended in a very different manner to the first.
Having previously departed for what ultimately turned out to be a doomed stay in the dugout at AC Milan, on this occasion Giampaolo leaves behind a side rock-bottom of Serie A following a streak of four straight defeats.
In all, Samp are without a win from eight league fixtures to date and are already four points behind 17th-placed Bologna, who they now meet on Saturday night.
Having been beaten in each of the teams' last seven Serie A meetings - always conceding at least two goals into the bargain - the Blucerchiati are in desperate need of reversing that trend if they are not to fall further behind before their new manager gets his feet under the table.
Finding a successor was an immediate priority for the Ligurian outfit, so ex-Red Star Belgrade coach Dejan Stankovic has been swiftly appointed ahead of their trip to Emilia-Romagna.
The former Lazio midfielder will certainly have his hands full upon arriving; Samp have not only endured their worst start ever to a Serie A season but have also suffered the most losses of any club in Europe's top five leagues during 2022 - 19 from 27 games.
© Reuters
New Bologna boss Thiago Motta took his side to Turin last week, having lost his first game in charge, when they went down 1-0 to Empoli before the international break.
Conceding two goals in three second-half minutes against Juventus put any hopes of even a point out of sight, and the Rossoblu were eventually consigned to a 3-0 defeat at the Allianz Stadium.
Therefore, Motta has lost both of his first two games at the helm without producing a goal; the last time Bologna recorded three straight Serie A losses without finding the net was back in 2011.
The Emilian club's hierarchy had apparently been keen on attracting new Brighton & Hove Albion coach Roberto De Zerbi to Dall'Ara, but their subsequent choice represents something of a gamble, given Motta's chequered record while in charge of Genoa and Spezia.
A former colleague of Stankovic during Inter's 2010 treble-winning season, his current club now host Sampdoria on a run of 13 home games without defeat against the Blucerchiati in Serie A, winning eight times in the process.
Team News
© Reuters
After the home humiliation suffered last Sunday versus Monza, new Samp coach Dejan Stankovic is surely set to make changes for his first match in charge. Marco Giampaolo's more cautious setup is likely to be abandoned, and a 4-2-3-1 system could be employed instead.
Former employers Bologna are one of Manolo Gabbiadini's favourite opponents in Serie A - having scored six times against them in his career to date - and he is likely to keep his place in the Blucerchiati attack.
While Harry Winks has made further progress in recovering from an ankle problem, and has stepped up his return to training, Saturday's game could come too soon for the Tottenham Hotspur loanee.
Like their visitors, Bologna have found life tough in the final third this term, and their reliance on star man Marko Arnautovic has been near total.
In 2022, only Ciro Immobile has scored the first goal in more Serie A matches than the Austrian's tally of seven, and Italy's September 'Player of the Month' has scored six of his team's seven league goals so far. Furthermore, in two previous appearances against Sampdoria, he has netted three times.
Thiago Motta continues to tinker with tactical set-ups in training, but is expected to stick with a four-man back line. As Musa Barrow may still be unavailable due to injury, Nicola Sansone and Riccardo Orsolini will be among those contending to support Arnautovic up front.
Bologna possible starting lineup:
Skorupski; De Silvestri, Soumaoro, Lucumi, Cambiaso; Medel, Schouten; Sansone, Dominguez, Orsolini; Arnautovic
Sampdoria possible starting lineup:
Audero; Bereszynski, Colley, Murillo, Augello; Rincon, Vieira; Djuricic, Sabiri, Gabbiadini; Caputo
We say: Bologna 1-2 Sampdoria
While no team has conceded more first-half goals than Sampdoria in Serie A this season (nine), Bologna have leaked the same number in the second - so both sides have the opportunity to boost a meagre tally this weekend.
Neither is fully familiar with their new coach's demands, so a disjointed affair could be decided by one moment of magic or a minor disaster.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
