<span class="titolo">Serie A Preview: Napoli - Sampdoria</span></p> <span class="sommario">What: Serie A Who: Napoli (8th, 3 pts) v Sampdoria (7th, 4 pts) When: September 16, 2007 - 15:00 (CET) Where: Stadio San Paolo, Naples</span></p> Napoli In Buoyant Mood </p> A year ago Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis revealed a four-year plan for the Azzurri. By 2010 he had set the club a schedule of returning to European football. </p> Napoli’s disastrous 2-0 home defeat by Cagliari on match-day one made this target seem a million miles away and there were already many fans calling on De Laurentiis to sack Coach Edy Reja. </p> However the stunning 5-0 away victory over Udinese a fortnight ago has convinced many in Campania that a return to the glory-days of the 1980s may not be too far away. </p> Not since the days of Diego Maradona have Napoli won by such an impressive margin. The last time the Partenopei scored five or more goals in a Serie A away match was on November 20, 1988 when a hat-trick by Brazilian legend Antonio Careca led Napoli to a memorable 5-3 victory over Juventus in Turin. </p> The star-player of that wonderful double Scudetto-winning side was of course the incomparable Diego Armando Maradona. The San Paolo crowd seem to have found their present-day hero in the form of fellow Argentine Ezequiel Lavezzi. </p> The striker, signed from San Lorenzo in the summer has had a dazzling start to Napoli career and has already earned the nickname of the ‘New Maradona’. </p> During the win in Udine, Lavezzi was simply unplayable. Fast, stocky and skilful – there certainly was a likeness to the great Diego. Lavezzi scored one and set-up two and the Neapolitan newspapers declared the next day that “a new star is born”. </p> However Lavezzi is not the only player to look out for in this Napoli squad. Former Juventus striker Marcelo Zalayeta has also made an excellent start for his new club and his height and physicality has added some much needed muscle up front. He appears to be the perfect compliment to Lavezzi. In midfield also, Napoli have made some inspired signings. </p> Manuele Blasi acts as a defensive shield to the Azzurri back-line and despite being just 27, has years of Serie A experience. Napoli also surprisingly managed to fight off interest from the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United to land 20-year-old Slovakian starlet Marek Hamsik. The former Brescia playmaker is one of the most highly-rated youngsters in Europe. </p> Napoli go into the game with Sampdoria in buoyant mood and the San Paolo crowd will be expecting nothing less than three points. </p> Solid Start For Samp </p> Sampdoria have made an unbeaten start to the season, with four points out of six in Serie A and success in the Intertoto Cup against Croatian outfit Hajduk Split. In his playing days at Fiorentina, new coach Walter Mazzarri was once groomed to inherit the role of the legendary Giancarlo Antognoni. </p> Unfortunately this never occurred but by miraculously saving Reggina from relegation last term, he earned his right to coach the Blucerchiati. A 2-1 win at Siena in week one was followed by a 0-0 draw with Lazio a fortnight ago and enough was shown in these games to suggest that Samp can push for UEFA Cup qualification this season. </p> The loss of last-year’s star man Fabio Quagliarella to Udinese is a big blow however. The striker scored 13 Serie A goals, most of them spectacular and Quagliagol could virtually have contested the goal of the season competition all by himself. However the Doriani have tempered his loss with the signing of four well-established strikers. </p> Antonio Cassano arrives from Real Madrid, hoping to finally express his undoubted genius. Former goal-machine Vincenzo Montella signs from Roma, determined to prove that at the age of 33 he is still capable of scoring at the highest level. Andrea Carracciolo swaps Sicily for Genoa after moving from Palermo, while veteran hitman Claudio Bellucci, who scored 19 goals in Serie B last campaign is given another crack in the top-flight. </p> Although Cassano is injured for the trip to Campania and Montella still short of match-fitness, there certainly is enough firepower in the Samp forward-line to worry the Azzurri defence. With the likes of Gennaro Delvecchio, Angelo Palombo and Sergio Volpi locking horns with Manuele Blasi, Marek Hamsyk and Walter Gargano in midfield, Sunday’s clash at the San Paolo should certainly be an intriguing match-up. </p> FORM GUIDE</p> Napoli </p> Udinese - Napoli 0 - 5 02/09/2007 Serie A</p> Napoli - Livorno 1 - 1 29/08/2007 Coppa(Napoli win 4-3 on pen)</p> Napoli - Cagliari 0 - 2 26/08/2007 Serie A</p> Napoli - Pisa 3 - 1 18/08/2007 Coppa</p> Napoli - Cesena 4 - 0 15/08/2007 Coppa</p> Sampdoria </p> Sampdoria - Lazio 0 - 0 02/09/2007 Serie A</p> Sampdoria- Hajduk Split 1 - 1 30/08/2007 Uefa Cup Qual.</p> Siena – Sampdoria1 - 2 26/08/2007 Serie A</p> Hajduk Spilt - Sampdoria 0 - 1 16/08/2007 Uefa Cup Qual.</p> TEAM NEWS</p> Napoli </p> Partenopei boss Eddy Reja is likely to utilise a 3-5-2 formation once again, after its stunning success against Udinese in matchday two. In defence, former Parma stopper Matteo Contini will compete with Andrea Cupi for a place next to Paolo Cannavaro and Maurizio Domizzi. </p> The midfield is almost certain to be unchanged, with Manuele Blasi providing defensive protection and Walter Gargano and Marek Hamsik given more attacking freedom. </p> Up front, the South American duo of Marcelo Zalayeta and Ezequiel Lavezzi will be asked to replicate the havoc they caused at the Stadio Friuli on September 2, when the pair scored three goals between them. Napoli's top-scorer last season, Emanuele Calaio will have to settle for a place on the bench.</p> Sampdoria </p> Walter Mazzarri was hoping to give Antonio Cassano his competitive debut against the club that were also linked with his signature over the summer. </p> However an injury in a friendly against Swiss side Bellinzona put paid to those intentions. Emiliano Bonazzoli is out injured and Vincenzo Montella is only fit enough to start on the bench, so Andrea Caracciolo and Claudio Bellucci are likely to start up front again. </p> In midfield, ex-Tottenham flop Reto Ziegler is suspended after his sending off against Lazio, while defender Pietro Accardi misses out through injury.</p> PROBABLE LINE-UPS </p> Napoli: Iezzo, Contini, Cannavaro, Domizzi, Grava, Hamsik, Gargano, Blasi, Savini, Calaiò, Lavezzi </p> Sampdoria: Mirante; Campagnaro, Sala, Lucchini; Maggio, Palombo, Volpi, C.Zenoni, Delvecchio; Bellucci, Caracciolo </p> PLAYERS TO WATCH</p> Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli)</p> The Argentinean youngster has already won over the hearts of the Neapolitan faithful after a simply stunning performance against Udinese a fortnight ago. Lavezzi has since become the umpteenth player to be proclaimed as the ‘New Maradona’ and although this comparison may be a little over-the-top, there can be no doubting the awesome technical, dribbling and playmaking abilities of the striker. Sampdoria should be fearful.</p> Claudio Bellucci (Sampdoria)</p> The summer-signing from Bologna has made a sound start to his Blucerchiati career, scoring on matchday one against Siena and coming mightily close to adding to that against Lazio on September 2. Bellucci is a former Napoli player as he scored 24 goals in 91 appearances between 1997 and 2001. The Partenopei will be hoping the 32-year-old doesn't come back to haunt them.</p> PREDICTION</p> The Azzurri are brimming with confidence after their 5-0 thrashing of Udinese and will fancy their chances at the San Paolo. If Lavezzi and Zalayeta can continue their devastating partnership, they may have too much for the Samp defence. On the other hand Napoli's attacking mentality may leave gaps at the back so we could be in for an entertaining game.</p> Napoli 3 – 2 Sampdoria </p> </p>
