SAMPDORIA

League position: 15th
Head coach: Marco Giampaolo
Serie A top-scorer: Francesco Caputo (9)

RECENT FORM

SAMPDORIA: W L L L W
ROMA: W W D D W

Sitting seven points above the drop going into Matchday 31, La Samp have three wins and five defeats to their name since Giampaolo took over and are seeking some consistency in the final weeks of the campaign.

Not only was Manolo Gabbiadini back in training this week, but there was even better news in the shape of Mikkel Damsgaard returning to Genoa and pulling on his boots again after suffering “an aggressive form of arthritis.”

The Giallorossi have had two weeks to savour their dominant derby win over Lazio last time out and now have eight games remaining to put a seal on a European spot.

Jose Mourinho’s side start week 31 well placed in sixth and victory could move them to within just five points of a Champions League spot in fourth-place.

Possible Sampdoria line-up

(4-3-2-1)

Audero; Bereszynski, Ferrari, Colley, Murru; Thorsby, Ekdal, Candreva; Sensi, Sabiri; Caputo

LAST MEETING

DANGER MAN
Francesco Caputo

With Gabbiadini out injured and 39-year-old club captain Fabio Quagliarella more and more playing a bit part role, Caputo has been the leader of the attack recently.

His two goals against Venezia last time out helped his team to a 2-0 victory, taking the on-loan Italy international to nine league goals for the campaign.

It’s yet to be seen whether Quagliarella will partner Caputo or whether he will lead the line on his own, as he did against Venezia, with Abdelhamid Sabiri and Stefano Sensi in support.

Either way, Caputo will carry the greatest threat in front of goal.

MATCH STATS

Sampdoria are on the longest run without a draw among current Serie A sides, they have won three and lost eight of their last 11 league games.

Roma are unbeaten in their last nine in Serie A (W5, D4) and have won three of their last four.

One more game without defeat will take the Giallorossi to 10 unbeaten in a single campaign for the first time since in 2015-16, when they went 17 without loss.

Tammy Abraham’s opener from Lorenzo Pellegrini’s first minute corner was the 11th goal Roma have scored from a corner this season and they’re now one away from a club record 12 strikes resulting from corners in a single campaign that was set in 2004-05.

PLAYER STATS

• Abraham’s 15 league goals are one away from the record for an Englishman in a single Serie A season.
  
• With 23 goals in all competitions, Abraham is also the highest scoring Englishman in any of Europe’s top-five leagues this term.
  
• Of all Roma players in their maiden Serie A season, only two have scored more than Abraham: Rodolfo Volk (21 in 1929-30) and Pedro Manfredini (16 in 1959-60).
  
• Caputo (nine goals) could score 10+ goals for a fourth Serie A season in a row, a feat only achieved by Ciro Immobile since 2018-19, while Caputo’s efforts have been spread out between three different sides; Empoli, Sassuolo, and Sampdoria.

WHAT THEY SAID

“It’s a very good feeling to be back here, I’m very happy to get to see the teammates again. The squad is different from before. A lot of things have changed since I left, so it’s been crazy to follow, but I feel like we’re playing very well, with more motivation, good football and we are going the right way."

- Damsgaard on his return to training after five months out