What: Italian Serie A
Who: Inter vs Sampdoria
When: Sunday 24th October, 2010, at 19:45 UK Time
Where: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan, Italy
Rafa’s Way
Though he has a long way to go before matching the exploits of his predecessor Jose Mourinho, Rafa Benitez’s first couple of months in charge of Inter can be deemed a real success. Despite being two points off the pace in Serie A, the general consensus is that the Spaniard’s team will be standing at the top when all is said and done in May. Benitez seems keen on making the Nerazzurri a more explosive attacking side and the club have responded at times this season, scoring four goals on three occasions, twice in Europe and once in Serie A.
Wednesday’s 4-3 victory against Tottenham in the Champions League was a Jekyll and Hyde performance, where the reigning Italian and European champions raced out to a 4-0 half-time lead only to concede three times in the second half despite having a man advantage. Benitez has suggested his players need to learn a lesson in not looking ahead, "We played wonderfully in the first half, scoring four times and playing beautiful football, but after the break the team seemed a bit too relaxed and started to think about Sunday’s game." Indeed, this weekend’s clash against Sampdoria begins a sequence of important matches where the club will want to grab maximum points before its toughest part of the schedule comes from mid-November through early December.
Up And Down Samp
Sampdoria’s season to date has been a frustrating one with the team being unable to put together a series of consistent results. Before last weekend’s 2-1 win over Fiorentina, it had been seven weeks since the team tasted success in Serie A. Domenico Di Carlo’s side followed that fine win up with a 2-1 defeat at Metalist Kharkiv in Europa League action on Thursday. The Italian boss was angered by the team’s display saying, “Losing a match we should have won hurts a lot. We lowered ourselves and our opponents pulled out the artillery and changed the result”, the coach referring to Metalist turning the match around with ten men.
Despite the inconsistent nature of their campaign thus far, Sampdoria have not fallen too far off the pace in Serie A and are still well placed to advance from the group stage of the Europa League. The desire now will be to begin combining some promising play with results. Sunday’s match with Inter Milan is a stern test of this side’s credentials and could end up being a real measuring stick as to what this club can achieve this season.
Recent form
Inter Milan:
Inter Milan 0-0 Juventus
(03/10; Serie A)
Cagliari 0-1 Inter Milan
(17/10; Serie A)
Inter Milan 4-3 Tottenham
(20/10; Champions League)
Sampdoria:
Bologna 1-1 Sampdoria
(03/10; Serie A)
Sampdoria 2-1 Fiorentina (17/10; Serie A)
Metalist Kharkiv 2-1 Sampdoria (Europa League)
Key absences
Inter Milan: Dejan Stankovic; Diego Milito; McDonald Mariga
Sampdoria: Stefano Lucchini; Franco Semioli; Angelo Palombo
Players to watch
Inter – Samuel Eto’o: Arguably the hottest striker on the planet at the moment, Eto’o simply can’t stop scoring. 14 goals in all competitions thus far include a brace against Tottenham in the Champions League on Wednesday and the winner away to Cagliari last weekend in Serie A action. With Benitez at the helm, the Cameroonian has become the main man in Inter’s attack and has made a stunning start to the campaign.
Sampdoria – Antonio Cassano: Though his name has been thrown around constantly with rumours suggesting he is off to Juventus next season, Cassano is still doing the business at Sampdoria. He has been the stand-out performer for the club this season chipping in with six league goals including the deciding strike in last weekend’s clash with Fiorentina. Always capable of moments of genius, Cassano is no longer a one-trick pony and has become a more consistent performer for his club.
Match prediction
Sampdoria have the talent in their squad to give Inter a real test at the Giuseppe Meazza on Sunday. Di Carlo’s side may have not won away in Serie A play this season, but they have not lost either claiming three credible draws. Inter have had a difficult time avoiding the injury bug this season, yet Benitez has still been able to get results and the team should have enough to see off the challenge of Sampdoria. Inter 2-1 Sampdoria.
