Genoa and Napoli go head-to-head at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris for this weekend’s Serie A opener with both sides hoping to build from last season after varying fortunes for each side.
Rafael Benitez’s Napoli go into the season opener as Coppa Italia champions, however, finished off the pace in the Serie A after finishing 24 points behind Scudetto winners Juventus.
The Partenopei will be hoping to improve on their third place finish this season but could see themselves off the pace again after failing to add depth to the squad in the transfer window.
Genoa too will be confident of improvement this campaign after a lackluster season in which the Grifone finished 14th. The Rossoblu sat comfortably in the top half of the table midway through last season but slid down the table as the side lacked form in the second half of the season. Coach Gian Piero Gasperini will be confident of improved fortunes this season with a squad of talented talented youngsters and experienced veterans.
Last season’s fixtures saw Napoli overcome Genoa 2-0 thanks to two first half Goran Pandev efforts. This was followed by a 1-1 in the reverse fixture after Emanuele Calaio cancelled out an early strike from Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain. Genoa have not performed well in recent fixtures against Napoli, winning only two of the last ten encounters. This includes a 6-1 hammering in at the Stadio San Paolo in December 2011.
Genoa finished last season poorly with only one win in their last eight fixtures. With only two pre-season victories recorded against Savona and Virtus Lanciano respectively, and defeat at the hands of Pro Vercelli, fans of the Rossublu will be wary of their chances against a strong Napoli side.
In contrast, Napoli can boast an impressive result in preseason after beating Barcelona 1-0, although their preparations have been interrupted with the Champions league qualification defeat against Athletic Club.
Genoa will be pleased to hold on to Mattia Perin and Andrea Bertolacci but will look to utilise several new signings in the season opener including Argentina winger Diego Perotti, Chilean forward Mauricio Pinilla and Alessandro Matri who joins on a season-long loan from Milan. Full-back Aleandro Rosi and Tomas Rincon are also poised to make their debuts for the club.
Napoli are set to have a similar appearance to last campaign. Top scorer Gonzalo Higuain is set to start up front again this campaign with support from Marek Hamsik and Lorenzo Insigne after the latter was rested against Athletic Club.
Defender Kalidou Koulibaly has impressed in preseason since signing from Genk and is likely to partner Raul Albiol at the heart of defense. Following the departure of Pepe Reina, Brazilian Rafael looks set to feature in goal after being favored to Mariano Andujar for Napoli’s Champions League qualifiers.
Expected Starting XIs
Genoa – Perin; Rosi, Burdisso, Marchese, Edenilson; Rincon, Sturaro, Antonelli; Iago, Pinilla, Perotti.
Napoli – Rafael, Maggio, Albiol, Koulibaly, Britos; Inler, Jorginho; Callejon, Hamsik, Insigne; Higuain.
