Preview:Sampdoria vs. Sassuolo - prediction, team news, lineups

Sassuolo travel to Sampdoria on Wednesday night after suffering their first defeat in three matches, having gone down 2-1 at home to AC Milan - a game that saw Rafael Leao score the fastest-ever Serie A goal after just six seconds.

Sassuolo's opponents Sampdoria come into this matchup off the back of two wins, with the latest coming by way of a 3-1 win at home to struggling Crotone.

Match preview

Claudio Ranieri's Sampdoria will see this match as an opportunity to secure three wins on the bounce, helping them to improve on their league position where they currently sit 10th.

Ranieri's side have shown a lack of consistency so far this season, winning five and losing six with only two draws in that time, and will hope that a sixth win of the campaign can put them within touching distance of the European places.

To climb the table, Sampdoria will need to improve their home form, having only won twice at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium this season, the latest being the victory over Crotone on Saturday.

One of the main contributors to that poor home form will be the inability to keep it tight at the back, proven by the fact they have not been able to keep a clean sheet in their backyard so far this season.

Sassuolo were left stunned after AC Milan's Leao had the ball in the back of the net before they had even had a chance to draw breath, scoring the fastest goal in Serie A history and beating Paolo Poggi's previous record of eight seconds.

Domenico Berardi gave Sassuolo a glimmer of hope against AC Milan on the weekend after the Italy international snatched a late goal. Still, it never materialised into anything more than that as the home side left empty-handed.

Roberto De Zerbi's side will now go on the road again, where they have secured over 60% of their points so far this season - the third-best record in the league.

Francesco Caputo's partnership with Berardi has proved fruitful throughout this year's campaign, providing 12 invaluable goals.

De Zerbi will be hoping his two goalscorers will continue to do the business as they go in pursuit of the club's highest Serie A finish.

Sampdoria Serie A form: LDLLWW Sampdoria form (all competitions): LDLLWW

Sassuolo Serie A form: WLDWDL

Team News

Winger Antonio Candreva only featured as a late substitute on the weekend after his much-publicised falling out with manager Ranieri. He has been training alone ever since but could return to the starting XI should the relationship be fully patched up before Wednesday night.

Bartosz BereszynskI and Keita Balde have returned to training following muscle injuries and will be pushing for a starting berth.

Alex Ferrari limped out of the Sampdoria match with Crotone with an apparent thigh injury, and Morten Thorsby could once again deputise as a makeshift right-back.

De Zerbi welcomed forwards Gregoire Defrel and Caputo back from injury against AC Milan, with Vlad Chiriches also making the squad.

That leaves defender Filippo Romagna as the only injured player, while Manuel Locatelli served his suspension against Milan and is now available against Sampdoria.

De Zerbi could likely ring the changes, with this match being their fourth game in 10 days.

Sampdoria possible starting lineup: Audero; Thorsby, Colley, Tonelli, Augello; Jankto, Thorsby, Ekdal, Damsgaard; Verre; La Gumina

Sassuolo possible starting lineup: Consigli; Toljan, Chiriches, Ferrari, Rogerio; Obiang, Bourabia; Berardi, Djuricic, Boga; Caputo

We say: Sampdoria 1-1 Sassuolo

Sassuolo's strong away form, coupled with Sampdoria's poor home run, suggests that De Zerbi's men could take points away from this matchup. That said, Sampdoria are coming into this match off the back of two wins and, based on that, we are predicting that this one will finish honours even.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.