Napoli to edge past Sampdoria

Sampdoria face a fight against the drop, hosting mid-table Napoli on Monday night. Can Claudio Ranieri continue to boost their survival prospects? Have a read of our preview here:

Claudio the magic man

Winning the Premier League title with Leicester has cemented Claudio Ranieri a place in football history forever. The man from Rome defied all the odds to claim that precious crown but has led a nomadic existence since leaving the Foxes.

When he arrived at Samp in October the team were plumb bottom of Serie A and a fall into Serie B looked inevitable. However, he has managed to prove once again he is capable of bringing the best out of a limited group of players.

Samp are a far cry from the side that famously won the title in 1992. Back then they had stars like Roberto Mancini and Gianluca Vialli to call upon but fast forward to 2020 and their star man remains 37-year-old Fabio Quagliarella who has struggled to find the net as frequently as last season.

Five strikes this season after 17 games is decent enough but his 26 goals last term were enough to get Samp a top-half finish.

Since Ranieri arrived the club have won four and drawn five of their 14 games, lifting them clear of the relegation zone.

Napoli are not chasing the title like the last few seasons, but they are still going to prove a tough opposition for Sampdoria. Thanks to Ranieri’s turnaround, Samp are now just seven points behind the Partenopei and could close the gap further with a win on Monday.

A step back for Napoli

Napoli have regressed this season after several years near the top of Serie A. Indeed, they have been the only side to challenge Juventus over the last couple of campaigns but just two wins in their last 13 matches has seen them drop alarmingly down the standings.

They picked up an important win last time out, ironically against Juve which will have delighted the fans as it hurts their title chances with Inter hot on the heels of the Bianconeri.

Napoli have not impressed under Gennaro Gattuso so far and if the poor results continue, you feel there could be another change in the dugout before too long. So far, an underwhelming season in Naples with plenty of changes expected this summer.

Sampdoria vs Napoli betting tip

Even though Ranieri has improved things, you still expect Napoli to have enough quality with the likes of Insigne, Mertens and Callejon to win the game that’s why we are backing Napoli to win at odds of 31/40 with Betway.

Bet Napoli to win on Betway