AS Roma take on the visitors Sampdoria in the 1/-finals of Coppa Italia. The match will be played on Wednesday, December 18th at Stadio Olimpico (Rome).
Roma put a lot of faith in José Mourinho, hoping he would restore the club to the upper echelons of European football or at least secure a Champions League spot. While the "Special One" delivered the UEFA Conference League title in his first season, his tenure progressively worsened. Roma lost the Europa League final last year, and their performances in Serie A deteriorated further. Less than a year ago, Mourinho was replaced by Daniele De Rossi, who showed promise initially but couldn’t deliver success. The team finished 6th in Serie A, exited the Europa League in the semifinals, and, despite significant summer reinforcements, De Rossi was dismissed early in the current campaign following poor results. His successor, Ivan Jurić, failed to make an impact, with a string of defeats and reported conflicts with players. To stabilize the situation, Claudio Ranieri was brought back for a third stint in charge. After failing to win in his first three matches, he secured a resounding 4-1 victory against Lecce, preceded by an impressive 2-2 draw with Tottenham in London. However, Roma’s inconsistency remains an issue, evidenced by their shock 0-2 loss to newly promoted Como after thrashing Braga in the Europa League last Thursday.
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Sampdoria’s underwhelming performances continue. The "Blucerchiati" managed to remain in Serie A for over a decade, even qualifying for European competitions during that time. However, in 2023, the Genoa-based side was relegated to Serie B. A similar situation occurred in 2011, but they immediately bounced back that time. This season, the club's gamble on Andrea Pirlo as head coach did not pay off, finishing 7th in Serie B and suffering an early exit in the promotion playoffs. After parting ways with Pirlo early in the current campaign, Sampdoria’s fortunes haven’t improved. While autumn under new coach Andrea Sottil saw some promise, the team’s form quickly regressed, culminating in a disastrous 1-5 loss to Sassuolo and fears of further relegation. Their recent 0-0 draw with Spezia may seem like a minor positive, given their struggles, but their only real consolation this season has been the Coppa Italia, where they eliminated city rivals Genoa.
Roma have lost just once in their last 10 meetings with Sampdoria and have won the last three encounters in a row. Despite Roma's ongoing struggles, they face an opponent that has been weak even by Serie B standards. A home win for the "Giallorossi" seems highly likely, and a bet on Roma with a handicap of "-1.5 goals" appears to be a solid choice.
Prediction for the match: AS Roma to win with -1.5 handicap.
