Cagliari-Sampdoria

By: Jeremy | November 6th, 2009

sassari
After a week at home resting following three games, all wins, the previous week, Cagliari gets ready to welcome Sampdoria, one of Serie A’s top teams, but also a team whose attitude and mindset often determines its fortunes more so then its talent. This lead up should make for a very unpredictable game.

Samp is lead by the enigmatic and unpredictable Antonio Cassano, one of the top talents in Serie A. As with many great talents, his temperment keeps him from reaching that next level. He is way too sensitive and quick to emotions and that can have negative effects on his team. This has lead to him being left out of the national squad when despite his on the field talent clearly being that of a starter for his country.

Samp comes off a draw at home to surprising Bari and the home fans were disappointed with the performance and let the players know it with some jeering. Of course Cassano overreacts and now talks like he will leave the club. While minor, these outbursts can have short term effects on a teams performance sometimes for the good but too often for the bad.

While in third place on 21 points, fans have to be a little upset with draws to Bari, Parma, and Lazio, and a thrashing by Juve. They are 7 points back of Inter, but still higher then where they were last year so they are in a good place. If they can keep their emotions in check, they should qualify for Europe.

Cagliari is flying high after a slow start. Allegri essentially saved his job by beating Genoa, Lazio, and Atalanta, but things do not get any easier as they finish out the first half schedule with as tough a run as any team in Serie A and it starts out with Samp.

Allegri seems to have found the confidence in Nene and is now starting him with immediate results. Rather then Jeda, he pairs him up with Matri which is not what I would do, but the results cannot be questioned. The goal scoring should only increase with Nene in the lineup regularly as his presence does so much for the other players.

The midfield will continue to be a strength with Biondini chasing Cassano all over the place and Conte giving him a knock when needed. They will have to keep him in check while still working to get the ball upfront. Look for lots of subs in the midfield to show our depth and to wear them out.

The backline has held up recently and while Pisano and Marzoratti are still out, the group of Lopez, Canini, Agostini, and Astori can hopefully give Marchetti the support he needs to keep Samps goal scoring to a minimum.

With the rest and the importance of the game, combined with Cagliari wanting to push the pace at home, we could see a lot of goals. Predicting any match involving Samp is tough because you dont know which team is going to show up. Cagliari has a chance to seperate itself from the mid table clubs with a win while a loss and a tough schedule can quickly put the heat back on Allegri. With Samps attitude distraction and Cagliaris momentum staying at home, I think Cagliari will win this game.

Prediction:
Cagliari 2-1 Sampdoria

Prediction record to date: 4-7