Sampdoria vs Siena preview - Ferrara wary of Siena threat

Posted Sunday, September 02, 2012 by PA

Sampdoria manager Ciro Ferrara has steeled his men for a battle with a Siena side desperate to cancel out the Serie A points deduction imposed on the club for match-fixing.

Siena opened their campaign with a goalless draw at Juventus last week but still sit bottom of the Serie A table on minus five points.

Sampdoria were given a one-point deduction but they are already back in the black after a shock victory over last season's runners-up AC Milan at the San Siro.

Ferrara said: "We are two teams in need of points. We want to confirm the good things we did at the San Siro, while they want to cancel the penalty.

"That worries me much more than last Sunday. We need to think as if we are still on minus points because we want a big performance in front of our own crowd.

"I beat that drum all week. Siena will give us a hard time and certainly will do everything to make our lives difficult."

Danish international left-back Simon Poulsen is likely to be included on the bench for Sampdoria following his arrival from AZ Alkmaar.

Siena goalkeeper Gianluca Pegolo insisted his men cannot get distracted by their points penalty and focus instead on building on their draw with Juventus.

"Sampdoria will surely be buoyed after their win against Milan. We must think match by match without being immediately get anxious to recover the penalty," Pegolo said.

"We defended well as a whole team. We must be careful from the beginning against Sampdoria. They are a strong team with a great attack.

"What we need above all is to play with as much peace of mind as possible, without looking to the league position in the belief that we will recover little by little the initial disadvantage."