ROME resident Marco Di Cosmo (@Scioltz) bagged three winners from four last weekend. Here he runs the rule over Saturday night's Serie A fixture between Sampdoria and Lazio.
Sampdoria v Lazio | Saturday 19:45 | BT Sport
Sampdoria have turned their form around in recent times, going unbeaten in their last six games in Serie A while coming since a difficult moment in early September.
Moreover, this Samp team have showed a brilliant capacity to find the net relying on the quality of their upfront trio, as shown in their last encounter against Torino.
On Saturday night the Blucerchiati face Lazio, who are looking to bounce back from a defeat in the Rome derby – a result that was not up for a debate, as they were pretty much dominated by their rivals throughout.
Inzaghi's negative tactics
I blame very much Lazio’s coach Simone Inzaghi for his mentality against big teams, always refusing to keep his identity and not relying on the quality of his attacking wingers.
In every match against top teams in Serie A, Inzaghi often switches to a five-man defensive line, while always giving away any offensive approach. It is not coincidence their record with big teams is losing 1-0, 2-0 and 2-0 against Juventis, Milan and Roma, and 1-1 against Napoli.
In those matches, Lazio have managed to score only once, while also registering no more than a couple of shots on-target per-game.
Mentality change
Their mentality changes incredibly when facing smaller teams as they turn into a scoring machine, with Ciro Immobile and Felipe Anderson being disruptive. Among those matches, the Biancocelesti have registered an average of 3.2 goals per-game in total, with seven out of 11 finishing with Both Teams To Score (8/13 William Hill).
That will be my selection for this match, trusting in Lazio’s changing trend against small teams, and Sampdoria’s openness and dangerousness in the offensive areas.
Plus, I find the odds on the hosts too generous, and I expect Lazio to have some woes from their derby defeat so back Samp to avoid defeat with a play on the +0.50 Asian Handicap (8/11 188BET),
Best Bets
Sampdoria v Lazio – Both Teams To Score (8/13 William Hill)
Sampdoria v Lazio – Sampdoria +0.50 Asian Handicap (8/11 188BET)
