Love may have been in the air for Valentine’s Day weekend, but there was little to celebrate for those of a Sampdoria persuasion.

No sooner had the Blucerchiati looked like they may finally be finding their groove under Leonardo Semplici that they came back to earth with a resounding thud against Sudtirol.

January signing Giuseppe Sibilli cancelled out Silvio Merkaj’s sixth minute opener, before Sampdoria had Alex Ferrari and captain Fabio Depaoli sent off. Still, Semplici’s men looked to have done enough to hang on for a draw and extend their unbeaten run to four matches, before Daniele Casiraghi converted a penalty two minutes from time. Romance be damned.

Not only did the defeat puncture the balloon Samp had inflated with back-to-back wins against Cosenza and Modena, it also dragged them back into the relegation quagmire they had just managed to pull themselves out of.

With 28 points in 26 matches, the Ligurians’ position remains incredibly precarious and they would face Sudtirol in a relegation play-off if the season were to end today.

As Semplici noted, Samp were architects of their own downfall in Bolzano, with Depaoli sent off after striking out in retaliation against Salvatore Molina while already on a yellow.

“I hope this incident is a one-off,” Semplici said of the sending off.

“It was a momentary lapse in judgment. There was a lack of composure, but both the club and I made our position clear. However, it’s difficult to understand the players’ mindset.”

With three fixtures against promotion contenders over the next three weeks, Sampdoria can’t afford to feel sorry for themselves either as Sassuolo and Palermo are due at Marassi either side of a trip to Bari.

Visitors at the Luigi Ferraris on Friday night, the Neroverdi could temporarily open up a 10-point gap over Pisa at the top of Serie B.

Much as Fabio Grosso may understandably try to deny it, Sassuolo’s return ticket to Serie A is all but punched as they are seven points clear of the Tuscans following their 2-0 win over Brescia on Saturday and their rivals’ draw against Cesena.

With 61 points in 26 games at an average of 2.35 points per match, the Emiliani are statistically the best team across the second tier of the top five big European leagues, while their tally of 58 goals is the second-best across the five divisions.

Since losing to Pisa on Boxing Day, Sassuolo have won six on the bounce and are overwhelming favourites to extend their run on Friday night at Marassi. Semplici, however, believes Sampdoria can spring an upset.

“Sassuolo are a team of real quality, but we’re going to make it very difficult for them,” he said.

“We’re eager to bounce back and show our quality and we need to be clinical and avoid errors. While we’re aware of their strengths, we need to focus on our own game and impose ourselves. The crowd will be our twelfth man.”

The Blucerchiati will welcome back Bartosz Bereszynski after a three-month absence, but Semplici warned the Poland international may not be fit enough to play the whole 90 minutes yet. Up front January signings Sibilli and M’Baye Niang are expected to retain their places after opening their accounts over the past two weeks, while Sassuolo will be without Laurs Skjellerup and Kristian Thorstvedt.

The trip to Marassi will be significant for Grosso, who could have been sitting in the home dugout had he not turned Sampdoria’s advances in the summer of 2023. As it happens, the 2006 World Cup winner looks to have made the right decision, but is well aware of the energy Samp can draw from the atmosphere at Marassi, which promises to be at its raucous best on Friday night.

“With fewer games left in the season, every point is vital,” he said,

“We know we’re up against a strong team, playing in a fantastic stadium with passionate fans. We need to deliver a top-quality performance to achieve our objective.”

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