Sports Mole previews Wednesday’s Serie A clash between Genoa and Cremonese, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Goal-shy Genoa welcome Cremonese to Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Wednesday’s Serie A clash, aiming to secure their first league victory of the season in gameweek nine.
The midweek match will be the first between the clubs in the big time since September 1996, when La Cremo won, extending their top-flight winning streak in this fixture to three.
Match preview
Genoa finished last season in 13th place in Serie A, but the new season has started disappointingly, with the Grifone failing to win after eight matchdays.
Their latest attempt to turn around this poor run came in Turin, where Morten Thorsby put Patrick Vieira‘s men ahead 1-0 after seven minutes; however, a second-half collapse saw the Rossoblu slip to their fifth defeat of the season, more than any other side in the division.
Vieira’s team struggle both offensively and defensively, with their four goals only surpassing Parma’s three, and their 11 conceded in eight games worse than all but Torino (14), Lecce (13), Udinese (12), Fiorentina (12) and Pisa (12).
As one of the division’s four clubs yet to secure maximum points this term, the Rossoblu’s vulnerabilities in both boxes could hinder their chances of escaping the relegation zone.
The cellar-dwelling hosts have earned just three points from their first eight games, leaving them two points below 17th-placed Hellas Verona, who visit Como in midweek, aiming to avoid falling into the dreaded bottom spots.
That aspiration might be unlikely given Cremonese’s difficult start since returning to the top flight after two years away.
Davide Nicola is typically known for orchestrating remarkable escapes, but this season, he may not be as focused on fighting for safety with the Grigiorossi; their strong start has positioned them seven points above the relegation zone.
That buffer was built through an unbeaten run until the sixth round, when they were beaten 4-1 by Inter Milan.
Nicola has clearly concentrated on making his team difficult to beat, which has resulted in many drawn matches (five), more than any other club in the league except seventh-placed Atalanta with six.
It will be interesting to see how La Cremo approach Wednesday’s game, having failed to win in three consecutive away matches after their surprising 2-1 victory over AC Milan in their first away trip this season.
However, history suggests that Nicola will opt for caution rather than reckless attacking in Liguria, even if earning maximum points could see Cremonese climb into the top six — they are two points behind sixth-placed Como — though they would need other results to go their way to finish the midweek round in the coveted continental spots.
Genoa Serie A form:
Genoa form (all competitions):
Cremonese Serie A form:
Team News
While Genoa did not appear to suffer any apparent injuries against Torino, they are likely to be without Nicolae Stanciu (thigh) and Alessandro Marcandalli (muscle) on Wednesday.
Vieira will hope for a strong performance from Ruslan Malinovskyi, who has created more big chances than anyone for the Grifone, and the advanced midfielder aims to be crucial for the struggling hosts.
Cremonese face more injury concerns for the midweek fixture, with Giuseppe Pezzella, Antonio Sanabria, Alberto Grassi and Faris Moumbagna to be evaluated; however, Michele Collocolo is ruled out.
While Jamie Vardy opened his account for the Grigiorossi, the away side have seen three players score two goals each: defenders Filippo Terracciano and Federico Baschirotto and forward Federico Bonazzoli.
Genoa possible starting lineup:
Leali; Sabelli, Ostigad, Vasquez, Ellertsson; Frendrup, Masini; Norton-Cuffy, Malinovskyi, Thorsby; Ekhator
Cremonese possible starting lineup:
Audero; Terracciano, Baschirotto, Bianchetti; Zerbin, Payero, Bondo, Vandeputte, Mussolini; Bonazzoli, Vardy
We say: Genoa 1-1 Cremonese
Unless something drastic happens, goal-shy Genoa are unlikely to make a significant impact against a Cremonese side that are expected to embrace a tight contest.
As a result, the points could be shared in a goalless or low-scoring draw in Liguria.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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