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MILAN. — Sampdoria coach Sinisa Mihajlovic will put his close friendship with Roma captain Francesco Totti to one side in a bid to hand the Italian Serie A soccer title contenders their second shock of the week.Roma took a 3-2 advantage over Napoli into their Italian Cup semi-final second leg on Wednesday but departed with their tails between their legs after a 3-0 rout by Rafael Benitez’s side, who will now meet Fiorentina in the Cup final.

Rudi Garcia’s Roma have so far done well to stay in touch with leaders Juventus – they are nine points behind with a game in hand – and keep Antonio Conte’s champions on their toes as they bid for a third successive scudetto.

But while Juventus are expected to claim an easy three points at home against a Chievo side who are just one point above the drop zone, Roma’s task against Sampdoria is not quite so straightforward.

Fixtures

Today: Fiorentina v Inter (9:45pm)
Tomorrow: Catania v Lazio (1:30pm), Atalanta v Parma, Cagliari v Livorno, Genoa v Udinese, Juventus v Chievo, Sassuolo v Napoli (all 4pm), Roma v Sampdoria (9:45pm)
Monday: Verona v Torino (9:45pm) —AFP.