It was certainly not expected that Sampdoria would be coming into this Serie A Matchday 17 game off the back of a win whilst Napoli are coming off the back of a defeat.
That is the situation as the home side got a much-needed win against Sassuolo in midweek, whilst Napoli fell to their first defeat of the season as they were beaten 1-0 by an impressive Inter side.
Napoli will want a swift return to normal order if they are to maintain a fairly sizeable gap between themselves and any potential challengers for the Serie A title.
Sampdoria v Napoli: Predicted line-ups
There are no major injury concerns for Napoli heading into this match but given the poor display against Inter and the highly-congested fixture list, Luciano Spalletti is expected to make some rotations and freshen up the starting eleven.
Omar Colley and Filip Djuricic are expected to return from injury and suspension respectively but the latter may only come back onto the bench. The likes of Harry Winks, Fabio Quagliarella and Abdelhamid Sabiri are not expected to be involved.
Sampdoria predicted XI v Napoli (3-4-1-2): Audero; Murillo, Colley, Nuytinck; Leris, Viera, Rincon, Augello; Verre; Lammers, Gabbiadini.
Napoli predicted XI v Sampdoria (4-2-3-1): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Kim, Rui; Anguissa, Lobotka; Politano, Raspadori, Elmas; Osimhen.
Sampdoria v Napoli: When does the Serie A fixture start?
Kick-off in the Serie A Matchday 17 fixture of Napoli v Sampdoria is set for 18:00 CET, local time in Italy, on Sunday, January 8.
For viewers in the United Kingdom and Ireland, the game will start at 17:00 GMT. That is 12:00 ET / 09:00 PT in the United States.
Sampdoria v Napoli: Where to watch the Serie A fixture?
Sampdoria v Napoli in Serie A will be shown on BT Sport 2 in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Sunday, January 8.
For fans in the United States, Sampdoria v Napoli will be on Paramount+ along with other key fixtures in Serie A Matchday 17.
