The always fiery Derby della Lanterna takes place on Saturday night at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris as Genoa face Sampdoria at 8.45pm.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Genoa (3-5-1-1): Radu; Biraschi, Romero, Criscito; Ghiglione, Cassata, Schone, Sturaro, Ankersen; Pinamonti, Favilli.
Suspended: Agudelo, Pandev.
Unavailable: Zapata, Kouame, Pajac, Lerager.
Sampdoria (4-3-1-2): Audero; Thorsby, Ferrari, Coley, Murru; Vieira, Ekdal, Linetty; Ramirez; Gabbiadini, Quagliarella.
Unavailable: Barreto, Bertolacci, Bonazzoli, Bereszynski.
KEY STATISTICS
– Genoa haven’t won any of the last six Serie A derbies against Sampdoria (D2 L4), failing to score in four of these games.
– Genoa haven’t won a Serie A derby against Sampdoria as the home side since May 2011: five victories for Sampdoria and two draws since then.
– Among teams present in both Serie A seasons, Genoa have won the fewest games (five) and the fewest points (29) so far in 2019.
– Genoa have lost four of their last six Serie A home games (W1 D1), as many defeats as in their previous 16 (W4 D8).
– Sampdoria have averaged 1.1 points-per-game in their last eight league games under Claudio Ranieri, having recorded a 0.4 average points in their first seven matches under Eusebio Di Francesco in Serie A this season.
– Sampdoria haven’t kept a clean sheet in 10 of their last 12 away games in Serie A, conceding at least two goals in each of these 10 matches on the road (27).
– No side has scored fewer first half goals than Sampdoria in the top five European leagues this season (two).
– Sampdoria’s Claudio Ranieri will become the first coach to figure in all four of the main Italian football derbies in the three points per win era – Genoa, Milan, Rome and Turin.
– Genoa defender Cristián Zapata scored his first goal in Serie A against Sampdoria, back in December 2005 with Udinese.
– Sampdoria striker Fabio Quagliarella has been involved in four goals in his last four games against Genoa in Serie A (three goals, one assist), just one fewer than in his previous 14 matches against them (two goals, three assists).
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com