Mazzarri wary of confident Metalist

UC Sampdoria coach Walter Mazzarri is taking nothing for granted as his side welcome FC Metalist Kharkiv to Genoa in the UEFA Cup Round of 32, saying "beating them will be hard work".

Recent revival
The Italian club have had an undistinguished season in Serie A, but while they sit 15th in the table, they are unbeaten in four league games including Sunday's morale-boosting 1-1 draw at second-placed Juventus. Mazzarri fully recognises, though, the challenge posed by the Ukrainan outfit. "Metalist are strong opponents," the 47-year-old said. "They are physically strong and won their group – which was a tough one – without conceding. They deserve respect, even if they are not well-known outside their country.

'Hard work'
"Beating them will be hard work," he added, "but we are proud about still being in the UEFA Cup and will do our best to remain involved as long as possible." Midfielder Gennaro Delvecchio and defender Daniele Gastaldello are both sidelined for the Blucerchiati, the latter after injuring his ankle against Juventus. In the same match, right-back Andrea Raggi suffered a knock and is a doubt for Wednesday's game.

Flying high
While Sampdoria lie three places above the relegation zone in Italy, Metalist went into their winter break with realistic hopes of achieving the most successful season in the club's history. Myron Markevich's team are second in the Ukrainian Premier League and won UEFA Cup Group B to reach the last 32. "We prepared for this season as we had for previous campaigns," Markevich said. "I try not to change our build-up as it gets results. We have worked hard, though, to strengthen our squad during the break."

Winter signings
With the loss of forward Ruslan Fomin, who returned to FC Shakhtar Donetsk after a successful loan spell, Metalist had no choice but to seek reinforcements. Ukrainian Under-21 international Denys Oliynyk came in while Walter Anibal Acevedo's arrival should take a load off experienced midfielders Valentyn Sliusar and Serhiy Valyayev. Former FC Metalurh Donetsk defender Andriy Berezovchuk is another new recruit. "Some good additions have deepened our squad," Markevich added. "I'd like to have 22 players battling for a starting berth. We have gathered a lot of information about Sampdoria, but it is hard to predict their starting lineup as they change it a lot."