Stadio Luigi Ferraris sets the stage for Saturday’s high-stakes Serie A showdown between mid-table Genoa and Scudetto hopefuls Juventus. Both sides have stuttered at the start of the new league campaign and hope to turn things around this weekend.
Genoa have claimed one win in the opening five league rounds for their fifth consecutive top-flight campaign (W1, D2, L2). Alberto Gilardino’s men have slumped to a horrendous 2-0 loss to newcomers Venezia a week ago. As a result, it’s been a month since the Griffins last won a match in Serie A.
However, Genoa’s disheartening league record doesn’t tell the whole story. They’ve had an unpleasant schedule in the early season but fared reasonably well on this ground. After a last-gasp 2-2 draw against defending champions Inter on the opening Serie A weekend, Gilardino’s side avoided defeat in another high-profile home game last time out.
Koni De Winter’s last-minute header helped Genoa hold Roma to a 1-1 stalemate, accelerating Daniele De Rossi’s farewell. Thiago Motta’s job is not at risk, at least yet. Juventus have yet to lose this season in any competition (W3, D3), but their league performances have flattered to deceive.
The Bianconeri shared the spoils with Napoli in another uneventful 0-0 draw last weekend. It was their third consecutive scoreless stalemate in Serie A, a feat unheard of in Turin since 1992. As such, Motta’s frontline has already come under scrutiny. Juventus march toward Genoa in pursuit of redemption, seeking their first league triumph since late August.
Match Preview
Genoa
The abovementioned ties against Inter and Roma form part of Genoa’s promising home form. Gilardino’s men have only lost one of their last seven league outings at Luigi Ferraris (W4, D2), albeit they’ve yet to win this season (D2, L1). Slow starts could be the culprit for Genoa’s unenviable home results.
The Griffins have fallen behind at some point in all three league matches here in 2023/24. It makes for ominous reading ahead of Juventus’ visit, considering the Turin giants have defeated Genoa more often than any other side in club history (W27, D30, L85). But it’s not all doom and gloom for the hosts.
Genoa held Juventus winless in both league encounters last season (D2), while they emerged victorious from their penultimate meeting on this ground in May 2022. However, after a morale-wracking Coppa Italia exit against arch-rivals Sampdoria on Tuesday, they’ll take the field with shaken confidence.
Juventus
Juventus can exploit Genoa’s poor state of mind, as Motta needs to resolve the visitors’ travel sickness to bolster their chances of dethroning Inter this season. Juve’s overly cautious approach on their road trips has seen five of their last six away league matches ended all square.
That’s part of a more sinister pattern. Indeed, Juventus have claimed just one win in their last ten Serie A games outside the Allianz Stadium (D6, L3). Motta might not be the ideal man to inspire the Bianconeri to a much-needed road success, having slumped to a 2-0 defeat on this ground while in charge of Bologna last term.
There’s another ominous sign for Juventus. Tendency to share the spoils has been their scourge in 2024, with no team from Europe’s traditional top-five leagues posting more draws this calendar year than the Turin outfit. On a positive note, the visitors can take heart from entering this round as the only Serie A team yet to concede a league goal this season.
Team News
Genoa cannot call upon the services of Ukrainian midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi, who underwent ankle surgery last week. There’s still a chance for standout forward Junior Messias to play his part in Saturday’s fixture despite suffering a minor muscle problem.
Juventus loanee Fabio Miretti has recently returned to full fitness and could face his parent club this weekend.
As for the visitors, Federico Gatti is back after a short spell on the sidelines. His return means Pierre Kalulu or Nicolo Savona would likely drop to the bench. Motta will be without Paul Pogba, Arkadiusz Milik, and Timothy Weah.
Dusan Vlahovic will be under the spotlight as he seeks his first league goal since August.
Genoa vs Juventus Potential Line-ups
Genoa (3-5-2): Pierluigi Gollini; Koni De Winter, Mattia Bani, Johan Vasquez; Stefano Sabelli, Morten Thorsby, Milan Badelj, Morten Frendrup, Aaron Martin; Vitinha, Andrea Pinamonti.
Juventus (4-1-4-1): Michele Di Gregorio; Nicolo Savona, Federico Gatti, Gleison Bremer, Andrea Cambiaso; Manuel Locatelli; Nicolas Gonzalez, Khephren Thuram, Teun Koopmeiners, Kenan Yildiz; Dusan Vlahovic.
Genoa vs Juventus Prediction
This contest has all the makings of an Italian classic but not in terms of stature. We expect this to be a low-scoring fixture with only a handful of scoring chances on both ends. Juventus often thrive in such circumstances, so we back the visitors to claim a narrow 1-0 win.
Prediction: Juventus to Win
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