PREVIEW - Sampierdarena

Dunfermline are tied to Sampierdarena on Sunday, in an away fixture that couldn't be any harder and couldn't have come at a more difficult time for The Pars.
On the back of their heaviest league defeat at the hands of front runners Amici Di Berto, Dunfermline take on one of the best sides of the league group, Sampierdarena NCLM, on an unbelievable run of 10 wins in a row, which got started soon after their 2-2 draw against The Pars themselves, a result that was later quashed by the FA and turned into a 4-0 win for the Fifers.
Dunfermline and Sampierdarena have been the only sides capable of beating Amici Di Berto during the course of the league term, and are only separated by 4 points with 3 fixtures remaining.
With no further need to highlight the relevance of a top-two finish, which would grant an Excellence Playoff berth, the lads have given themselves a mountain to climb in the light of their poor performances of late, only partly made up for by a string of results including 16 without a loss, which was finally abrupted by a scintillating performance on the part of Berto last weekend.
Should Dunfermline win the tie, they'd mathematically secure their top-two status, whereas should they falter once again and slip to defeat, they'd be left with no chance but to win their remaining encounters against Le Café and Borussia.
Should a draw be the final outcome of the game, Dunfermline would need another 2 points to qualify for the Excellence phase of the finals.

Perugini should be involved after missing out on the Berto game, however he'll most likely be understudy to Marco Semino, who's not in the best form of his season - as many of the players, though - following his recovery from a niggling knee injury.
Frassinelli, Filippi and Buttitta are all likely to feature, the defensive package having been put under fire recently, and more broadly suffering from a more general lack of form in the team.
The same can be said about the midfield, as Marletta has now failed to score for two successive games - his longest period without a goal this term -, although Bovalino's fine form has been one of the few positive notes for the gaffer lately.
A further blow to Dunfermline's current state of form will most probably be dealt tomorrow, as the FA are due to rule on Alessio Di Noto's third caution of the season, which is foreseen to result in a one match ban for the midfielder.
Cantelli will be called upon to inspire his team-mates once again, with Borreani entirely likely to be involved.
Finally, Buccianti will play a part following his impressive individual display against Amici Di Berto last Sunday.

When these two sides met back in January, Sampierdarena had taken a 2 goal lead following early free-kicks from Fornero and Andrea Ferrea, Division C top-scorer, before Buccianti pulled one back following a bit of a scramble in the box.
Marletta settled matters early in the second half from a spot-kick the Tuscan striker had earned his side.
Chances fell both teams' way, but the scoreline held firm at 2-2, before the FA adjudged that Samp's goalkeeper Bruzzone had unlawfully been fielded.


PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS

Dunfermline - Sampierdarena 4-0 (*2-2 on the pitch)
Buccianti, Marletta


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