- 1 Cremonese vs Sampdoria : five straight without defeat for the Grigiorossi, and no home stadium in sight
- 2 Cremonese : a brutal drop and a rebuild already under way
- 3 Sampdoria : a glamorous transfer window for a club that still needs rebuilding
- 4 Coppa Italia prediction Cremonese vs Sampdoria
- 5 First, a word on our free picks
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes fast
- 8 Your role
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the visuals…
Cremonese vs Sampdoria : five straight without defeat for the Grigiorossi, and no home stadium in sight 
Cremonese have not lost to Sampdoria in their last five meetings. Two wins, three draws, and an average of 2.29 goals per game across that run.
The two clubs kick off their season on Monday night in the Italian Cup, with kick-off at 20:45. The winner will face Parma in the next round.
With the Giovanni-Zini Stadium unavailable, the tie has been moved to neutral ground in Bolzano. So Cremonese lose home advantage before a ball is even kicked.
Both sides want the same thing over the medium term: a return to Serie A. They are going about it in very different ways.
Cremonese dropped back down in May after a poor season, their second relegation in three years. Sampdoria, by contrast, finished last season in mid-table in Serie B.
The Ligurian club have answered with an aggressive transfer window, with Lorenzo Insigne the headline name. Marco Giampaolo, meanwhile, is facing one of his old clubs from the opposite dugout.
The league campaign starts almost immediately after this: Cremonese travel to Empoli, Sampdoria head to Cesena. This cup tie is the full dress rehearsal.
The odds point to a rare balance in a first-round fixture. Cremonese are priced at 1.90, the draw at 3.40, Sampdoria at 4.00.
Cremonese : a brutal drop and a rebuild already under way 
Three wins in the last 22 Serie A matches. That alone tells you why the Grigiorossi went down.
They started the season fairly well, too. Then the collapse kicked in and never really stopped, even with Jamie Vardy and Federico Bonazzoli trying to drag them through.
The worrying bit came at home: 16 points from a possible 57 at the Zini. If you cannot win on your own patch, you are asking for trouble.
Marco Giampaolo made that his first job this summer. The irony, of course, is that his team cannot even play at home on Monday.
Pre-season has been decent rather than dazzling: two wins and two draws. David Stuckler scored the winner against Hellas Verona last week.
The Dane will compete with Bonazzoli and Milan Djuric for the central striking role. Giampaolo has three very different options for one spot.
Recruitment has picked up in recent days with winger Salvatore Elia arriving from Empoli and defender Alessandro Vogliacco joining from Genoa.
The window is still open and the squad is still shifting. Picking the starting XI is a guessing game.
The club were in Serie A two seasons ago, saved then by Serie B play-offs. No safety net saved them in May.
The schedule offers no breathing room either: the league opener at Empoli comes just days after this cup tie. Giampaolo needs his season to start now.
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Sampdoria : a glamorous transfer window for a club that still needs rebuilding 
Italian champions in 1991, European Cup runners-up a year later. The Sampdoria of today are back in Serie B and starting from a very low base.
Andrea Pirlo was dismissed early last season. The club finished in mid-table, well short of the ambitions they had talked up.
Bernardo Corradi got the job this summer. The former Manchester City striker is taking charge of his first senior team after several youth posts in Italy.
The board have backed him. Lorenzo Insigne is the marquee signing, joined by defender Luca Ravanelli, who has played for Cremonese, and Luxembourg forward Danel Sinani, capped 82 times.
Yari Verschaeren, signed from Anderlecht, could make his competitive debut for the Ligurian club on Monday. He is expected to play behind Tobias Lauritsen.
The Norwegian scored in the 2-0 friendly win over Parma. He is the main attacking reference point for now.
The treatment room is still busy: Peter Vindahl, Oliver Abildgaard, Tjas Begic and Nikola Sekulov are all dealing with fitness issues. Insigne and Ravanelli, who have been training separately, are doubtful.
Pre-season has been patchy, with two wins, one draw and one defeat. A squad this heavily rebuilt takes time to click.
The Italian Cup is not exactly unfamiliar territory for this club, winners of the competition four times in the 1980s and 1990s. That era still stands as the benchmark in Genoa.
Next up is Cesena for the Serie B opener. Corradi, then, has two debuts to handle inside a week.
Expected Cremonese XI: Fulignati ; Barbieri, Baschirotto, Luperto, Pezzella ; Elia, Gerli, Berti, Vandeputte ; Bonazzoli, Stuckler
Expected Sampdoria XI: Krastev ; Di Pardo, Viti, Gartenmann, Cicconi ; Conti, Henderson, Verschaeren ; Sinani, Lauritsen, Tutino
Coppa Italia prediction Cremonese vs Sampdoria
Our pick : Cremonese win
Cremonese are unbeaten in five meetings with Sampdoria, with two wins and three draws. That run is no fluke.
Giampaolo’s side already have a spine in place, with Bonazzoli, Vandeputte and Baschirotto as key reference points. At the other end, Corradi is fielding a squad rebuilt from scratch, and missing several senior figures.
Insigne and Ravanelli are doubtful, while Vindahl, Abildgaard, Begic and Sekulov are all in the treatment room. A first competitive game under those conditions rarely goes to script.
At 1.90, Cremonese offer the best value on the card. The Grigiorossi should get through.
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