Sampdoria will entertain Atalanta at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in their 2022-23 Serie A opener on Saturday.
The hosts played their first competitive game of the season last week against Reggina in the Copa Italia. Thanks to Abdelhamid Sabiri's 66th-minute penalty, they eked out a 1-0 win to progress to the next round.
Atalanta, meanwhile, will direcrly play in the Round of 16 of the cup competition, having finished as one of the top eight teams in the Serie A last season. In their final pre-season friendly on Sunday, they suffered a 2-1 defeat against Valencia.
Sampdoria vs Atalanta Head-to-Head
Sampdoria have locked horns 114 times across competitions against Atalanta. They have a 47-30 head-to-head record against their northern rivals, while 37 games have ended in draws.
The visitors are on a three-game winning streak against I Blucerchiati, though. Sampdoria have lost three of their last four home games against La Dea and are winless at home against them since 2017.
Sampdoria form guide (all competitions): W-D-W-D.
Atalanta form guide (all competitions): L-L-W-W.
Sampdoria vs Atalanta Team News
Sampdoria
Former Southampton striker Manolo Gabbiadini has made swift progress in his ACL injury and will should return to action by the end of the month. Meanwhile, Andrea Conti and Simone Trimboli have trained alone but won't be fit to appear here.
Injured: Simone Trimboli, Manolo Gabbiadini.
Suspended: None.
Doubtful: Andrea Conti.
Unavailable: None.
Atalanta
Davide Zappacosta and Merih Demiral are sidelined with injuries, while Jose Luis Palomino has been given a doping-related ban.
Injured: Davide Zappacosta, Merih Demiral.
Suspended: Jose Luis Palomino.
Doubtful: None.
Unavailable: None.
Sampdoria vs Atalanta Predicted XIs
Sampdoria (4-1-4-1): Emil Audero (GK); Bartosz Bereszynski, Alex Ferrari, Omar Colley, Tommaso Augello; Ronaldo Vieira; Antonio Candreva, Tomas Rincon, Francesco Caputo, Abdelhamid Sabiri; Fabio Quagliarella.
Atalanta (3-4-1-2): Juan Musso (GK); Rafael Toloi, Berat Djimsiti, Marten de Roon; Joakim Maehle, Hans Hateboer, Teun Koopmeiners, Éderson; Mario Pasalic; Duvan Zapata, Ademola Lookman.
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Sampdoria vs Atalanta Prediction
Although Sampdoria have a better record in this fixture, Atalanta have dominated proceedings in recent meetings, picking up five wins in their last seven games.
Sampdoria struggled in the Coppa Italia first round, needing a winner from the penalty spot to go through. Their struggles are expected to continue against Atalanta, who should eke out a narrow win.
Prediction: Sampdoria 1-2 Atalanta.