Atalanta vs Sampdoria prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-01-27 19:45.
After scoring a whopping 16 goals across their last three competitive matches (W2, D1), Atalanta have established themselves as surprise contenders for a top-four finish. They enhanced those aspirations by securing a thrilling 3-3 draw against Juventus in their last Serie A (SA) outing, and now welcome a struggling Sampdoria team who they’ve beaten in four straight H2H contests, securing clean sheets in three of those meetings.
Despite positive recent form placing them sixth in the table ahead of the round, manager Gian Piero Gasperini was keen to shed light on the sloppy nature of his side’s play against Juventus, arguing two of the goals they conceded came as a result of “losing the ball cheaply”. He’ll therefore hope to see a more solid defensive showing here, yet with four of their five outings in 2023 having seen both teams score at least twice, it looks more likely that we could see another thriller for the neutrals.
That said, Gasperini might take comfort that visitors Sampdoria are on a painful run of four defeats without scoring a goal. Their recent 1-0 defeat to Udinese saw Dejan Stankovic’s men end the last round eight points behind safety, while that loss was also their 14th SA defeat this season – the most at this stage in the club's history!
The severity of their attacking woes is captured by the fact that Sampdoria’s eight league goals scored is the lowest total across Europe’s top-five leagues. In search of positives for the visiting fans, it should be noted that Sampdoria have scored six of those on the road, while they have also picked up seven of their nine points this season away from home (W2, D1, L6).
Players to watch: Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman has hit a double in three consecutive matches, with three of the last four arriving in the opening 15 minutes. Scoring in Sampdoria’s last away victory, Manolo Gabbiadini has netted his last nine goals in matches where both teams found the net.
Hot stat: Atalanta have scored a league-high 12 goals in the opening 15 minutes of the second half.