Saturday's Derby di Liguria sees Sampdoria and Spezia embroiled in a battle against the drop, and both want maximum points to help stave off demotion from Serie A.
Samp's need is more acute, as they sit bottom of the pile and some 10 points adrift of their 17th-placed visitors, meaning defeat would all but consign them to the second tier.
Match preview
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A slow-burn improvement has seen Sampdoria at least avoid defeat five times in their last 10 games - as many as in their first 20 of the Serie A season - but they remain rooted to the foot of the table and time is running out to pull off a miraculous escape from relegation.
Following a 1-1 draw at Lecce last week, Samp moved onto 16 points for the 2022-23 campaign, which represents the Genoese club's lowest-ever tally at this stage; while a total of three wins after 30 games is also their worst performance in that regard.
Having been spared defeat by a 75th-minute equaliser from journeyman striker Jese Rodriguez, the Blucerchiati may have salvaged a point at Stadio Via del Mare, but both clubs directly above them in the standings - Hellas Verona and Cremonese - have been improving steadily.
Dejan Stankovic's starting XI has been more settled in recent outings, but a serious churn of players under the Serbian and his predecessor Marco Giampaolo has seen 37 men feature for Sampdoria already this term - the most of any Serie A side.
Such instability cannot have helped at a club facing an off-field cash crisis in addition to their looming demotion, and a record of only one league win at home tells the tale of a muddled selection policy.
Stankovic must now prepare his downtrodden troops to host their regional rivals from La Spezia in what is surely a must-win battle, but the writing already seems to be on the wall.
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Preparing to take centre-stage in Saturday's late kickoff, Spezia have their destiny in their own hands during the final few games of their campaign, as they seek to secure a fourth straight Serie A season.
While Verona continued to close the gap following another win on Friday night, the Aquilotti remain above the relegation zone on goal difference - also with a game in hand - and may be confident of boosting their survival chances at Marassi.
As well as Sampdoria's ongoing struggles, precedent is certainly on Spezia's side this weekend, as they have taken three wins from the clubs' five previous meetings in the top flight, albeit each one came back home at Stadio Picco - including a 2-1 victory there in September's reverse fixture.
Following a 3-0 defeat to Italy's form team Lazio last week, head coach Leonardo Semplici averages one point per game since his arrival in Liguria at the end of February - not spectacular stuff, but better than Luca Gotti had managed previously and enough to keep his side out of the bottom three for now.
However, a tally of 26 points is their worst at this late stage of proceedings since achieving a first promotion to the elite back in 2020, and they have won only one of their last 12 league games. Indeed, it was January when they last took maximum points on the road.
Team News
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Despite a continued lack of product from his strikers, Sampdoria boss Dejan Stankovic is set to persist with Atalanta loanee Sam Lammers up front this week, supported by six-goal top scorer Manolo Gabbiadini.
Jese Rodriguez may expect to force his way into Samp's starting XI though, after becoming only the second Spanish player to score in at least four of Europe's top five leagues this century when he found the net against Lecce. Meanwhile, either Jeison Murillo or Koray Gunter could be called upon to replace Bram Nuytinck, whose availability is in some doubt.
After being booked as a substitute last week, Abdelhamid Sabiri is now sidelined by a ban, while Nicola Ravaglia continues to deputise for injured number one goalkeeper Emil Audero, whose season has been ended by shoulder surgery.
Following his late dismissal against Lazio, Spezia's Ethan Ampadu must serve a suspension on Saturday, so Arkadiusz Reca should come in at left-back; allowing Dimitris Nikolaou to shift to the centre of the visitors' defence.
Joao Moutinho, Szymon Zurkowski and Emil Holm remain unavailable due to injury, and Leonardo Semplici might name an otherwise unchanged side - versatile midfielder Kevin Agudelo being perhaps the strongest candidate for promotion from the bench.
Up front, leading scorer M'Bala Nzola will seek successive away goals following his strike at Fiorentina earlier this month, and the Angola international has found the net in both of his two previous Serie A starts against Sampdoria.
Sampdoria possible starting lineup:
Ravaglia; Zanoli, Murillo, Amione; Leris, Winks, Rincon, Augello; Djuricic; Gabbiadini; Lammers
Spezia possible starting lineup:
Dragowski; Amian, Caldara, Nikolaou, Reca; Bourabia, Ekdal, Agudelo; Verde, Nzola, Gyasi
We say: Sampdoria 1-0 Spezia
Both among the lowest scorers in Serie A this season, Saturday's derby could go to the wire - particularly as Sampdoria and Spezia are among the three sides that have conceded the most goals during the second half.
A lapse in concentration rather than a moment of glory may see the points' destiny decided, and Samp can finally give their long-suffering fans something to cheer about.
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