Crisis club Genoa are still seeking their second Serie A win of the season, as they face Udinese at Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Saturday.
Having sacked their high-profile head coach, the hosts will hope for a reaction under new management against a side still struggling despite their own change in the dugout.
Match preview
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His brief reign at an end without even a single league victory, Andriy Shevchenko departed the Genoa hotseat just two months after his appointment, and the Ligurian outfit are apparently lurching towards Serie B on recent evidence.
Fired with a record featuring just one Coppa Italia win over Salernitana - the only club still below the Grifone in the table - from 11 games in charge, the former Ukraine boss and Milan legend is now among a total of three men still contracted to the club - with his predecessors Davide Ballardini and Rolando Maran also still on the payroll.
The former has been sacked by Genoa five times before, while the latter endured a similarly short but fruitless spell as manager in late 2020, and a measure of the chaos at Marassi means that both were considered for a return before Alexander Blessin was appointed on Wednesday.
A former employee of RB Leipzig, Blessin will inherit a dispirited squad which was crushed 6-0 by Fiorentina on Monday night, under interim coach Abdoulay Konko. That demoralising defeat followed hot on the heels of a cup exit at the hands of Milan and a home reverse to fellow strugglers Spezia just a few days earlier.
Currently 19th in the Serie A standings, six points from safety having played at least one game more than most of their relegation rivals, Genoa's winless run in league football stands at 19 consecutive games.
Furthermore, they have conceded 45 goals throughout a torrid campaign, in which they have not won any of their last 12 home matches - the worst such streak for the club in Serie A.
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Not only will they meet a side at perhaps their lowest ebb for several years, Udinese also travel to Liguria with an impressive unbeaten streak versus Genoa.
Including November's goalless draw in Udine, the Bianconeri have not lost against their Rossoblu counterparts since February 2016 - winning six and drawing five of the teams' meetings in that spell - and by avoiding defeat on Saturday, they can set a new club record of 12 games unbeaten against a single top-flight opponent.
However, returning five defeats and three draws from their previous nine league matches on the road illustrates Udinese's struggle to find fluency away from home soil this term, and they sit 14th in the table - still far from assured of Serie A safety.
Head coach Gabriele Cioffi saw his side's most recent setback unfold in Rome on Tuesday, as Ciro Immobile's extra-time winner eliminated them from the Coppa Italia, with Lazio progressing at their expense.
Having previously lost to Juventus - not long after their rushed return from a COVID-19 outbreak resulted in a 6-2 home thumping by Atalanta - it is clear that the new manager's honeymoon period is at an end, so securing three precious points would ease the pressure on Cioffi and his multinational squad.
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Team News
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For Alexander Blessin's debut on the bench, Genoa are expecting that Hernani, Yayah Kallon and Valon Behrami will miss out on Saturday's game through injury, while on-loan midfielder Nicolo Rovella remains a doubt due to a muscular problem - having been linked with an early return to parent club Juventus this month.
Club captain Domenico Criscito may not be back in time to help shore up the Grifone's leaky defence, but fellow defender Johan Vasquez returns from suspension and is expected to start. Loan signings Leo Ostigard and Riccardo Calafiori may also be involved, despite playing a part in the calamitous loss to Fiorentina.
Up front, Mattia Destro is favourite to lead the line, and has previously scored six times against Udinese in Serie A. However, the former Italy striker has failed to find the net in any of his last four meetings with the visitors.
Meanwhile, Udinese's defence will be bolstered this weekend, as Rodrigo Becao is back from Serie A suspension and Bram Nuytinck should return after a substitute appearance in the Coppa Italia.
Gabriele Cioffi is set to make several other changes to the side which slipped out of the cup in midweek, with Tolgay Arslan and top scorer Beto regaining their starting places.
As a period of illness and injury at the club subsides, the visitors' only confirmed absentee Roberto Pereyra (shoulder), could be joined by Jens Stryger Larsen on the sidelines.
Genoa possible starting lineup:
Sirigu; Vazquez, Bani, Vanheusden; Ghiglione, Melegoni, Badelj, Sturaro, Calafiori; Caicedo, Destro
Udinese possible starting lineup:
Silvestri; Nuytinck, Becao, Perez; Soppy, Arslan, Walace, Makengo, Udogie; Deulofeu; Beto
We say: Genoa 1-1 Udinese
Five of the last eight encounters between these clubs has ended level, and the same outcome could be in store on Saturday, with either side low on confidence and lacking punch in the final third.
Genoa's hunt for a sense of direction goes on under their intriguing new manager, while the visitors can add another point towards building a total that secures Serie A survival.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
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 Udinese win with a probability of 38.1%. A win for Genoa had a probability of 35.79% and a draw had a probability of 26.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Udinese win was 0-1 with a probability of 9.55%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.37%) and 0-2 (6.44%). The likeliest Genoa win was 1-0 (9.2%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.4%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 7.1% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a draw in this match.
