Champions Inter Milan take on one of their favourite opponents as Serie A resumes this weekend; making the journey to Marassi, where they meet Sampdoria on Sunday afternoon.
Having started with maximum points from their opening two games, Inter visit a side they have beaten in seven of their last eight encounters, while the hosts are still without a first win of the season.
Match preview
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The first week of the 2021-22 campaign could hardly have gone more smoothly for new Inter coach Simone Inzaghi, as his team won both of their first two league matches before the international break by an aggregate of 7-1, while seamlessly integrating several summer signings.
Despite losing their Scudetto-winning boss and some star performers during the off-season, the Nerazzurri have managed to maintain their inexorable momentum which has continued throughout the calendar year - starting, in fact, after a rare defeat to this weekend's opponents in early January.
Inter have summarily brushed aside Genoa (4-0) and Hellas Verona (3-1) so far, with Joaquin Correa, Edin Dzeko and Hakan Calhanoglu - signed on a free transfer from city rivals Milan - all finding the net and demonstrating great understanding already.
In all, the Milan giants have scored in each of their last 21 league games - their best such run since 2009 - and former Roma captain Dzeko is well set to help continue that streak, having previously notched six goals against Sampdoria in Serie A - including three in his last three games versus the Blucerchiati.
Upon the occasion of Inzaghi's 200th top-flight match as a manager - from which he has garnered an impressive 110 wins so far - his current club will be overwhelming favourites to come out on top. In fact, only his predecessor Antonio Conte has won more from the same number of games since 1995, indicating why the former Lazio tactician has been entrusted with the job.
During a frenetic ten-day period, his Inter team are now set to take on a series of relatively modest domestic opponents - next meeting Bologna and then Fiorentina - but must also renew hostilities with Real Madrid; one of the clubs in a Champions League group they failed to progress from last autumn.
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In contrast to their visitors, Sampdoria have just one point from the opening two rounds and have so far failed to even find the net, during a difficult start to life at Marassi for new coach Roberto D'Aversa.
The former Parma boss, who suffered a painful demotion with the Emilian outfit last term, has moved to remedy that apparent lack of firepower by bringing in Italian international Francesco Caputo from Sassuolo on transfer deadline day.
A vastly experienced striker, 'Ciccio' will hope to help his new club improve matters in the final third, after firing successive blanks against both Milan (in a 1-0 defeat) and his former club, in a goalless draw at the Mapei Stadium.
Caputo joins two other Azzurri old boys in Genoa this season, as he will often partner 38-year-old Fabio Quagliarella in attack, with the veteran pair enjoying the support provided by ex-Inter winger Antonio Candreva. The wide man is poised to make his 400th Serie A appearance on Sunday and since his debut in the top flight nearly 14 years ago, only one outfield player has matched that milestone: Quagliarella.
Undoubtedly, D'Aversa will be relying on their accumulated nous and guile as he seeks to match the top-half finish achieved under Claudio Ranieri last season, and may even fancy they can secure a second successive home win over Inter this weekend.
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Team News
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As with several other managers of top clubs around Europe, Simone Inzaghi will have to balance the late arrival of his South American stars against the requirements of a busy upcoming schedule. Therefore, Lautaro Martinez is set to be rested following international duty with Argentina, and Stefano Sensi may start instead as support for lone striker Edin Dzeko, who is available having overcome a muscular injury.
Scorer of two goals last time out, Joaquin Correa may again feature from the bench, with fellow forward Alexis Sanchez remains absent for several more weeks to come.
Matteo Darmian and Denzel Dumfries will compete directly for a spot on the right flank of Inzaghi's XI, while Ivan Perisic starts on the left.
For the home side, meanwhile, both Albin Ekdal and Bartosz Bereszynski remain in doubt ahead of Inter's visit to Stadio Luigi Ferraris, but Manolo Gabbiadini is definitely sidelined after spraining his ankle on the opening weekend and Ernesto Torregrossa also misses out.
The starting side which took to the field at Sassuolo last time should be otherwise unchanged - except Fabio Quagliarella is set to be joined by Francesco Caputo up front; with service provided by ex-Nerazzurro Antonio Candreva and Denmark's Mikkel Damsgaard from out wide.
Sampdoria possible starting lineup:
Audero; Depaoli, Yoshida, Colley, Augello; Candreva, Thorsby, Silva, Damsgaard; Quagliarella, Caputo
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Brozovic, Calhanoglu, Perisic; Sensi; Dzeko
We say: Sampdoria 1-2 Inter Milan
Inter are set to reverse the scoreline they experienced at Marassi last time they took on Sampdoria away, as they can breach their hosts' defence at least twice, having already established some excellent attacking rhythm.
While Samp can get off the mark in terms of goals, they will have to wait until at least next week's visit to Empoli for a first victory of their league campaign.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Inter Milan win with a probability of 62.86%. A draw had a probability of 19.8% and a win for Sampdoria had a probability of 17.38%.
The most likely scoreline for a Inter Milan win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.87%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (9.33%) and 0-1 (8.57%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.06%), while for a Sampdoria win it was 2-1 (4.79%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 5.2% likelihood.
