Samp - Lazio preview

Sampdoria (7 pts, 11th place)
vs.
Lazio (-1 pts, 18th place)
20:30 CET (2:30 PM EDT) Wed, Oct 25
Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genova

US TV: none

Lazio face another tough opponent on the road as they take on Sampdoria in this mid-week match. The short time between games could be just what Lazio needs. They didn't have a full week to stew over the loss to Catania on Sunday, but instead had to return straight to practice. A win against the Genovesi could be the quick turnaround the club needs.

The club will need to perform on the field, and that means that all of the best biancocelesti need to start the match. Massimo Oddo is still out for his red card incident, and Pasquale Foggia will miss both this match and the one on Sunday due to a contusion on his left calf. Delio Rossi will start the same lineup as he did against Catania, with the exception of returning Ledesma and Mudingayi to central midfield. They are the first-team players, and may help Lazio move the ball between the boxes.

Samp will be missing a couple players as well, as they saw yellow five times in their previous match against Atalanta and now have two players disqualified for consecutive cautions. That will not be the only effect of that match: Samp will be justifiably angry after surrendering a two-goal lead and losing the match as Atalanta scored twice in the last five minutes. Thus Lazio and Samp both have a chip on their shoulders. Whichever squad is able to keep its cool as they try to restablilize their season will fare best.

Probable formation for Lazio:

Peruzzi
Belleri-Siviglia-Stendardo-Zauri
Manfredini-Mudingayi-Ledesma-Mauri
Rocchi-Pandev

Prediction: I'm not making any more predictions. They're so horribly wrong, why do I bother?