Matchday 4 of the 2022/23 Serie A season kicks off this week. On Wednesday, lowly Sampdoria host in-form Lazio at the Marassi.
Lazio have made an eye-catching start to the season. Thanks to their unbeaten start, they are one of six teams on seven points at the top of the table.
At the opposite end of the standings, Sampdoria find themselves in eighteenth place – six points behind third-place Lazio.
Sampdoria have yet to pick up their first win of the season, registering one draw and two losses so far. Only the bottom two sides have claimed fewer points.
After losing 2-0 to Atalanta on the opening weekend, Sampdoria held Juventus to a goalless draw. However, they were thrashed 4-0 by Salernitana last time out.
It is worth pointing out that Sampdoria are the only side in Serie A without a single goal to their name this season.
They also have the joint-worst defensive record in the league, having conceded six goals across their first three outings (2 goals per game).
On the flip side, Lazio have taken seven points from a possible nine this term. As a result, they sit level with Napoli, Milan, Atalanta, Torino and Roma atop the table.
The Eagles kicked off their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Bologna before playing out a goalless draw with Torino on Matchday 2.
Last time out, Lazio claimed a hugely impressive 3-1 win against Inter – thanks to goals from Felipe Anderson, Luis Alberto and Pedro.
Following a strong end to the previous campaign, Lazio head into Matchday 4 on a seven-game unbeaten streak in Serie A.
Head-to-head: Lazio have won each of their last three Serie A meetings with Sampdoria, scoring six goals while keeping two clean sheets.
When you look at the bigger picture, Lazio have only lost one of their previous 12 league encounters with Sampdoria.
Team news: Sampdoria currently have three players sidelined through injury – Manuel De Luca, Andrea Conti and Simone Trimboli.
As for Lazio, they will be without Polish defensive midfielder Patryk Dziczek following his heart condition diagnosis.
When you couple the contrasting early-season form of these two sides with Sampdoria’s woeful record in this fixture, all the signs point towards a Lazio win.
Forebet predicts that Lazio will keep a clean sheet on their way to getting the better of struggling Sampdoria.