Sampdoria vs Fiorentina: Preview

With Gonzalo set to mark his 200th appearance the weekend, Fiorentina make the trip north to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

Fiorentina

Sousa welcomes back both Nikola Kalinic and Federico Bernardeschi in what is much needed boost for the Viola in the attacking department. The former is likely to start, but unfortunately Matías Vecino won’t make the squad to due to a knee injury picked up on duty for Uruguay. The current streak of 1-0 wins is encouraging and unnerving in equal amounts, and you’d be crazy to bet on another 1-0 against Marco Giampaolo’s in-form Sampdoria.

Points were shared in the previous fixture at the Artemio Franchi in a tight match. Sousa’s deployed his rarely fancied 4-2-3-1, but is unlikely to sway from his tried and trusted 3-4-3 this time around

Sampdoria

Sampdoria come into the game off a fantastic result against Inter Milan away, with Fabio Quagliarella scoring a late penalty to effectively end Inter’s Champions League hopes. Sampdoria have suffered just one defeat in their last five games, a stat which probably doesn't sit well with Sousa.

Danger man Patrick Schick is a player linked with Fiorentina, but is much more likely to be swayed by one of the league’s financial powerhouses such as Inter in the summer. The Czech striker is the hot talk of the Serie A this season, notching up an impressive 8 goals this season despite mainly being used a substitute. Marco Giampaolo will almost certainly line up in his favoured 4-3-1-2. Sampdoria have lined up in such a shape exclusively all season, and the game is most likely to be played out with the battle for midfield superiority being key.

Sampdoria are without their top scorer Luis Muriel as he recovers from injury.

Probable Lineups

Sampdoria (4-3-1-2): Viviano; Bereszynski, Silvestre, Skriniar, Regini; Barreto, Torreira, Linetty; Fernandes, Schick, Quagliarella.

Fiorentina (3-4-3): Tatarusanu; Tomovic, Rodriguez, Astori; Milic, Borja Valero, Badelj, Tello; Ilicic, Cristoforo, Kalinic.

How To Watch

TV: Click here for list of TV channels showing the match.

Online: Get your list of safe, legal streams here!

Forza Viola!