The bottom two sides in Serie A will lock horns at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Sunday afternoon as Genoa play host to Salernitana.
The Rosseblu will be hoping to avoid a fifth successive league game without a goal, while the Garnets are seeking to claim their second away win in three matches.
Match preview
© Reuters
Genoa's search for their first victory in 2022 continues after they played out a goalless draw away at Roma last weekend.
VAR proved to be the Rossoblu's saviour, however, as Roma forward Nicolo Zaniolo was controversially denied a 90th-minute winner after Tammy Abraham was deemed to have fouled Johan Vasquez in the build-up.
Genoa have now drawn 11 league matches this season, more than any other Serie A team, while only Brighton & Hove Albion have drawn more games across Europe's top five leagues.
Alexander Blessin's men remain in the relegation zone with just one win to their name from 24 matches, and they are now six points adrift from safety following Cagliari's surprise success at Atalanta.
Genoa's last victory in any competition was in mid-December against none other than Salernitana, winning 1-0 in the second round of the Coppa Italia thanks to a strike from Caleb Ekuban.
The Rossoblu did, however, lose by the same scoreline against the Garnets in the reverse league fixture back in October last year, so they cannot take Sunday's opponents lightly.
© Reuters
Salernitana missed the chance to claim their fourth victory of the campaign as they let a one-goal lead slip twice to draw 2-2 at home against Spezia last weekend.
Simone Verdi did not take long to open his account on debut for his new club as he whipped a brilliant free kick into the top left corner in just the third minute to put the hosts in front; however, VAR intervened to award the visitors a 12th-minute penalty, which was converted by Rey Manaj.
Both sides then experienced deja vu as Verdi netted his second free kick of the game in the 16th minute, before Spezia were awarded another penalty via VAR, which was this time dispatched by Daniele Verde on the half-hour mark.
Stefano Colantuono's men remain at the foot of the table with just 11 Serie A points, and they are now nine points adrift from safety with 15 games remaining.
Salernitana, who are experiencing their first top-flight season in 23 years, claimed the first of their three league wins against Genoa earlier this season, and on Sunday, the Garnets will be looking to win both home and away against the same Serie A opponent in the same season for the first time in their history.
- D
- D
- L
- L
- D
- D
- D
- L
- L
- L
- D
- D
- L
- L
- W
- L
- L
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Genoa trio Domenico Criscito, Mattia Bani and Nicolo Rovella are all ruled out with injuries, while Leo Ostigard is suspended following his red card against Roma.
Andrea Cambiaso is, however, back from serving a one-match ban and he could be handed a start at left wing-back, with Silvan Hefti playing on the opposite flank.
Midfielder Nadiem Amiri, on loan from Bayer Leverkusen, will be hoping to force his way into the first XI, while Roberto Piccoli is set to partner Mattia Destro in attack.
As for Salernitana, Mamadou Coulibaly, Matteo Ruggeri, Andrea Schiavone and Francesco Di Tacchio are all unavailable as they continue to recover from injury.
Experienced attacker Diego Perotti could be handed his first start after signing a short-term contract with the club earlier this month, lining up alongside Verdi and Franck Ribery in an advanced midfield role in behind lone striker Milan Djuric.
Genoa possible starting lineup:
Sirigu; Vanheusden, Maksimovic, Vazquez; Hefti, Sturaro, Badelj, Amiri, Cambiaso; Piccoli, Destro
Salernitana possible starting lineup:
Sepe; Mazzocchi, Fazio, Dragusin, Ranieri; Kastanos, L. Coulibaly; Verdi, Perotti, Ribery; Djuric
We say: Genoa 1-1 Salernitana
Genoa and Salernitana have already beaten each other this season and both teams will fancy their chances of success this weekend.
A closely-fought contest is set to be played out at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, and while Genoa will be desperate for their winless run to end, they may have to settle for yet another draw on this occasion.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Genoa win with a probability of 48.34%. A draw had a probability of 26.6% and a win for Salernitana had a probability of 25.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Genoa win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.95%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.4%) and 2-1 (9.07%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.5%), while for a Salernitana win it was 0-1 (8.62%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.5% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 1-1 draw for this match.
