Del Neri : Cagliari v Sampdoria

The coming match sees Del Neri's Blucerchiati in action at "Sant'Elia" against an opponent who is building some good form after a slow start to the season. On Friday, Del Neri spoke to the press at Bolgiasco, smiling and light-hearted as usual, but ready for combat in the next game on Sunday afternoon. Allegri's Cagliari are coming into the game on a string of three straight wins against Genoa, Lazio and Atalanta. Clearly a very dangerous opponent, that plays good football, and the Blucerchiati will have to play at the highest level if they want to return from Sardegna with a result that can keep them moving on the table.

Del Neri had this to say:

"Cagliari didn't start playing well three weeks ago, it's actually been two good seasons for them under Allegri. One needs to look at the big picture, and I would say that during their three win streak they were quite lucky against Lazio who didn't deserve to lose that match. In any case we know that it will be a difficult game, that we must approach it with the utmost respect and caution, but we also know that the season doesn't finish on Sunday and that our primary objective remains to play good football.

Are expectations to high at the moment for Sampdoria?

I don't believe that the positive start to the season has raised expectations of this team too much. The Doriani are very knowledgeable fans as well as being passionate. I think they are happy and they still don't miss an opportunity to demonstrate to us their support. It's more accurate to say that only the newspapers and other media aren't happy with what Sampdoria is doing on the field.

What does the break hold in store for Samp?

During the break, we're looking forward to getting Semioli and Padalino back, as they are both very important to our style of play and clearly at the moment we are weakened on the right wing because of their absence.

Will Bellucci play on the right this weekend?

Bellucci has played a few seasons in that role, but I don't think I will use him there against Cagliari. If we decide to take a conservative approach I may opt for Zauri, but there is also Mannini who didn't play in the mid-week practice match but will be available on Sunday."

Doc

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