So far, 2015 has been one of mixed results for Inter. The Nerazzurri kicked off their Serie A campaign with a draw against Juventus in the Derby d'Italia in a game that they could have even left Turin with all three points. Then there was a solid win against Genoa, another team competing for European football next season. However, all that hard work was undone when Roberto Mancini's troops were held to a insipid scoreless draw with struggling side Empoli.
For their opponents, it was a great result because every point counts when one is fighting relegation. For Inter, not so much as they continue to lose ground against teams like Fiorentina, Sampdoria, Lazio, and even the team they recently beat, Genoa. And much to the certain irritation of the team's fans, cross-town rivals Milan still sit ahead of them, despite having lost to Atalanta this Sunday due to their slightly better goal differential.
Meanwhile, Sampdoria continue to battle hard as they hope to secure at least Europa League football for next season. After a heavy loss to Lazio in their opening 2015 match, the Blucerchiati have bounced back with back to back wins against Empoli and Parma. And with experienced striker Samuel Eto'o possibly set to come on board, the Genoa-based side are certainly daring to dream even bigger than Europe's second-tier continental competition.
Mancini and his opposing man on the tactician's bench, Sinisa Mihajlovic are quite familiar with each other, not just from their managerial days but certainly from back when both were playing in Italy. Mihajlovic in fact began his coaching career as an assistant for Mancini during the Italian's first spell with the Nerazzurri and the duo spent several seasons together at Sampdoria and Lazio.
It will be indeed an interesting meeting between two friends, but any comradeship will certainly be put aside as each side attempts to get the better of each other Wednesday evening.
Inter Milan vs Sampdoria team sheets
Inter's Starting XI: Carrizo; D'Ambrosio, Andreolli, Juan Jesus, Dodò; Medel, Kuzmanovic; Shaqiri, Kovacic, Podolski; Icardi.
Sampdoria's Starting XI: Romero; Wszolek, Gastaldello, Romagnoli, Cacciatore; Rizzo, Marchionni, Krsticic; Soriano; Djordjevic, Okaka.
Inter's bench: Handanovic, Berni, Palacio, Guarin, Campagnaro, Vidic, Obi, Puscas, Krhin, Donkor, Hernanes, Bonazzoli.
Sampdoria's bench: TBA
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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