Roma vs Sampdoria

Roma and Sampdoria will trade tackles in their final Serie A encounter in 2021 at the Stadio Olimpico.

Roma stunned Atalanta 4-1 in Bergamo at the weekend to make it two Serie A victories in a row following back-to-back league defeats to breathe new life into their hopes of finishing inside the top four this season. However, ‘I Giallorossi’ have failed for consistency at home of late, alternating between winning and losing across their last four Serie A fixtures at the Stadio Olimpico (W2, L2). We are unlikely to witness a draw here either, as none of Roma’s last eight top-flight home meetings with Sampdoria have ended level (W6, L2) since a 1-1 stalemate in 2012. Roma’s winning prospects will hinge on their ability to stay compact at the back, as they’ve kept a league joint-high five Serie A clean sheets on home turf this season.

Meanwhile, despite going unbeaten in their last two Serie A games in a row (W1, D1), Sampdoria are still hovering in the bottom half of the table, though they now harbor a healthy eight-point lead over 18th-placed Genoa. That has helped relieve the pressure off Roberto D’Aversa’s shoulders, albeit the visitors’ indifferent away league form remains an issue (W3, D1, L4). Since being held to a scoreless draw at Sassuolo in late August, none of Sampdoria’s last seven Serie A away fixtures have ended level (W3, L4), with six of those matches won/lost yielding a full-time margin of 2+ goals. Scoring first would optimize Sampdoria’s chances of picking up the points here, considering they’ve lost all three away league games when conceding the opener this term.