Sampdoria showed a lot of promise early on in the season and looked like they would spring a surprise on everyone by chasing the ultimate prize in the peninsula, but that soon vanished when they went into a depressing run of three games without a victory.

However, last week’s win against Chievo would have gone some way in restoring the faith that they can step up to the occasion in the heated derby game that awaits them at the Marassi.

Genoa have had a difficult time playing a series of fixtures including those in the Europa League, which has left the squad somewhat fatigued. But the Derby della Lanterna will see both sides rearing to go one up on their immediate rivals, who are fighting for a Champions League spot this season.

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Fiorentina would have liked to face Inter whilst on a better run of form, as three losses in their past five league games do not count for much. But a win against Lyon in the Champions league, thereby resulting in European heavyweights Liverpool bowing out of the competition would have gone some way to restore the confidence in the Viola.

Meanwhile, the Nerazzurri succumbed to a disappointing loss against Barcelona in a game where they were outplayed in all departments. Many critics believe that an exit from the European competition will lead to Jose Mourinho being fired, even though he appears to have the backing of Massimo Moratti.

A loss here could potentially see Juventus come within touching distance of the pole position in the Serie A, as the gap could be cut down to two points, thereby resulting in more questions being asked about the ‘Special One’.

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It is now 11 games since Lazio registered a win in the Serie A, which in turn has left Davide Ballardini clinging on for dear life at the helm of the capital club.

A loss against a consistently inconsistent Bologna side will likely be the last straw for the Aquile boss, who has taken a fair amount of criticism for the way his side have been performing.

The Rossoblu are all too familiar with fighting for survival in the top flight, and would welcome to opportunity to take on their opponents with a realistic chance of scraping the three points that will be on offer.

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