Juventus warmed up for their top-of-the-table clash with Napoli by beating Sampdoria 4-1 in Turin.
On Saturday the Bianconeri will lock horns with one of their fiercest Scudetto rivals at the Juventus Stadium and it was vital Massimiliano Allegri's men went into the showdown in a positive mood.
Mario Mandzukic and Giorgio Chiellini boosted confidence with early goals and, after struggling Samp responded through maiden scorer Patrik Schick, Bosnia's Miralem Pjanic propelled Juve clear.
Goals from Dries Mertens and Vlad Chiriches downed Empoli 2-0 to help Napoli keep in touch with leaders Juventus.
Two defeats from three games had seen the Azzurri fall away in the race for the league title but they followed up Sunday's 2-1 victory at Crotone with a confident display back on home turf.
Mertens linked up with first-half menace Jose Callejon to rifle Napoli ahead in the 52nd minute and former Tottenham centre-back Chiriches plundered only his third goal for the club at the death.
Edin Dzeko continued his hot streak in front of goal as Roma battled back from a goal down to win 3-1 at Sassuolo.
The Bosnia international has now scored 10 goals in as many games and Roma needed his scoring touch after they fell behind to Paolo Cannavaro's 12th-minute header.
Dzeko had already hit the crossbar before he equalised on 57 minutes, and then won and converted a 76th-minute penalty.
Mauro Icardi took a major step towards regaining the adoration of hardcore Inter Milan fans while also throwing boss Frank de Boer a lifeline as his brace helped beat Torino 2-1 at San Siro.
The Nerazzurri captain has fallen out of favour with the home faithful following comments he made in his new autobiography, with Ultras demanding he is stripped of the armband.
But fans may start to reconsider their standpoint after watching the Argentinian notch in the first half before rescuing three points with a 88th-minute winner in response to Andrea Belotti's equaliser.
Ciro Immobile continued his rich vein of scoring form with two goals in Lazio's 4-1 victory against Cagliari.
Italy striker Immobile made it eight goals in his last six games for club and country as Lazio swept into a three-goal lead inside 28 minutes.
Balde Keita drilled Lazio ahead six minutes in before Immobile struck from the penalty spot midway through the half, and then swept home a loose ball five minutes later.
Crotone's wait for a first win of the season goes on after Fiorentina snatched a late point from a 1-1 draw in a weather-affected match in Florence.
Diego Falcinelli gave the visitors hope of an elusive victory when he struck from close range in the 20th minute, moments after teammate Marcelo Trotta was denied by Viola goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu.
The goal came just two minutes after a lengthy delay due to inclement weather, with Fiorentina slow to get back up to speed.
But just as it looked as though rock-bottom Crotone might take the three points, Davide Astori struck in the 85th minute to save Fiorentina's blushes.
Ibrahima Mbaye's own goal prevented Bologna from picking up a first win in five games as they drew 1-1 at Chievo.
Bologna's Blerim Dzemaili went closest to breaking the deadlock in a first half of few chances, while Riccardo Meggiorini almost put Chievo ahead.
But the visitors took the lead after 52 minutes when Sadiq Umar found Erick Pulgar and his deflected shot deceived Stefano Sorrentino in the Chievo goal.
Holland international Jonathan de Guzman was prominent for Chievo and they equalised 20 minutes from time when Mbaye turned the ball into his own net.
Atalanta extended Pescara's miserable run with a 1-0 victory at the Stadio Adriatico.
Pescara have now gone eight games without a win since beating Sassuolo on Aug. 28 and are hovering just above the bottom three.
Alberto Paloschi had an early chance to give Atalanta the lead, but Pescara's latest defeat was confirmed on the hour mark when Mattia Caldara climbed highest in a congested goalmouth to meet Remo Freuler's corner.
Atalanta have now won four of their last five matches as they continue their climb into the top half of the table.