Samp to Increase Their Serie A Lead Over the Blues

Just six points separate Sampdoria and Empoli on the Italian Serie A ladder but one thinks that Samp are much better than the Blues than the raw divisional standings suggest.

Sampdoria is 13th on the Italian Serie A ladder following 19 rounds and its 23-point tally is half a dozen more than the 17 that 17th-ranked Empoli has accrued. Sampdoria and Empoli have each faced every Italian Serie A side and that enables one to produce statistically resilient collateral form data. According to one’s Italian Serie A collateral form analysis, Sampdoria holds a 10-5-4 lead over Empoli and that is just a small part of the story. Remember that Sampdoria beat Empoli 1-0 on the road in August’s reverse Italian Serie A fixture, a game that Samp had in the bag long before the Blues had Massimo Maccarone sent off in the dying stages. And also note that Sampdoria’s Italian Serie A collateral form edge over Empoli is 8-3-0 when one only counts matches featuring opponents that are ranked in the top 11 currently.

Neither Sampdoria nor Empoli has a star absent on CAF Africa Cup of Nations duty and, while Matias Silvestre is banned, one remains keen on Samp without their Argentinian defender. Sampdoria is available at odds of 1.82Bet €100 to win €18241/50Bet £100 to win £182-122Bet $100 to win $1820.82Bet HK$100 to win HK$182-1.22Bet Rp100 to win Rp1820.8200Bet RM100 to win RM182  with Marathonbet and that strikes one as this weekend’s best Italian Serie A bet.

Staying with Sunday’s Italian Serie A game between Sampdoria and Empoli and one is also interested in backing under two and a half goals at odds of 1.80Bet €100 to win €1804/5Bet £100 to win £180-125Bet $100 to win $1800.80Bet HK$100 to win HK$180-1.25Bet Rp100 to win Rp1800.8000Bet RM100 to win RM180  with Marathonbet. Ten of Sampdoria’s 19 Italian Serie A matches have gone under two and a half goals, including five of its nine home games. No Italian Serie A team has participated in more low-scoring matches than Empoli, with 12 of its 19 games going under two and a half goals, including six of its nine away dates.

Fans of head-to-head records may want to know that each of the last six league meetings between Sampdoria and Empoli have gone under two and a half goals, the last five of which have taken place in concurrent Italian Serie A seasons.

Punters who want to parlay Sampdoria into under two and a half goals can obtain odds of 3.80Bet €100 to win €38014/5Bet £100 to win £380+280Bet $100 to win $3802.80Bet HK$100 to win HK$3802.80Bet Rp100 to win Rp380-0.3571Bet RM100 to win RM380 , although it may pay to shop around later in the week for a dutched wager on Samp defeating Empoli either 1-0 or 2-0.

Bet365 and 188Bet are offering odds of 1.80Bet €100 to win €1804/5Bet £100 to win £180-125Bet $100 to win $1800.80Bet HK$100 to win HK$180-1.25Bet Rp100 to win Rp1800.8000Bet RM100 to win RM180  about Sunday’s Italian Serie A match between Udinese and Roma going over two and a half goals and that rounds out one’s weekend selections.

Twelve of Udinese’s 19 Italian Serie A games have gone over two and a half goals, including seven of its 10 home matches. Thirteen of Roma’s 19 Italian Serie A games have gone over two and a half goals, including five of its 10 away matches. Those are impressive numbers for one’s pick but, dig a little deeper, and even more delectable data emerges. For example, nine of Udinese’s 10 Italian Serie A games against higher ranked opponents have gone over two and a half goals. And August’s reverse Italian Serie A fixture resulted in a thumping 4-0 home win for Roma over Udinese.

The CAF Africa Cup of Nations will rob Udinese of Molla Wague and Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu and Roma of Mohamed Salah, while the Yellow and Reds will have to do without Antonio Rudiger and Daniel De Rossi due to their respective bans. Most of the aforementioned players are defensively minded so, on balance, one thinks their collective absence will not reduce the likelihood of their Italian Serie A match being relatively high scoring and going over two and a half goals.

Tips Summary

Sampdoria to beat Empoli
Sunday 15th January, 14:00 GMT
Odds: 1.82Bet €100 to win €18241/50Bet £100 to win £182-122Bet $100 to win $1820.82Bet HK$100 to win HK$182-1.22Bet Rp100 to win Rp1820.8200Bet RM100 to win RM182

Sampdoria v Empoli – Under 2.5 Goals
Sunday 15th January, 14:00 GMT
Odds: 1.80Bet €100 to win €1804/5Bet £100 to win £180-125Bet $100 to win $1800.80Bet HK$100 to win HK$180-1.25Bet Rp100 to win Rp1800.8000Bet RM100 to win RM180

Udinesev Roma – Over 2.5 Goals
Sunday 15th January, 14:00 GMT
Odds: 1.80Bet €100 to win €1804/5Bet £100 to win £180-125Bet $100 to win $1800.80Bet HK$100 to win HK$180-1.25Bet Rp100 to win Rp1800.8000Bet RM100 to win RM180