Out of form Genoa host Fiorentina at the Stadio Ferraris on Saturday evening in Serie A, with both sides looking to strike a blow for their Europa League aspirations.
The Grifone enter the match without a win in their last six matches, in which they have conceded an average of more than two goals. The Tuscan side have been improving recently, winning three of their previous six games, but have yet to beat a side in the top half of the table away from home.
Saturday will be the 90th league meeting between the two sides, with Fiorentina having won 43 of the 89 clashes to date. However in Liguria, the two share the spoils, with both emerging triumphant on 14 occasions.
The very first meeting in Genoa between the two brought about a 7-0 win for the Grifone, one of several thrashings dealt out in the contests to date. One such defeat came last season, when the Gigliati triumphed 5-2 in a match that saw both Mario Gomez and Giuseppe Rossi scoring twice.
While Gomez is likely to lead the line for the visitors on Saturday, Rossi is enduring another long-term injury lay-off and has not played all season, while Juan Cuadrado is all set to complete a move to Chelsea over the weekend.
Both sides have reinforced in January, with Gian Piero Gasperini recruiting M’Baye Niang from AC Milan to bolster their forward line as well as the creative spark of Tino Costa, though the enigmatic Argentine is unlikely to feature on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Vincenzo Montella has brought in veterans Alberto Gilardino and Alessandro Diamanti, who have both left Guangzhou Evergrande after adding Chinese Super League titles to their personal trophy cabinets. That means Montella’s squad contains forwards with over 500 career goals to their name, but a grand total of eight this season, five of which were from top-scorer Khouma Boubacar.
Montella’s injury list includes Rossi, but he is also without Alberto Aquilani through injury, while Stefan Savic and David Pizarro both miss out through suspension. Ciprian Tartarusanu has impressed in goal and is likely to retain his spot.
Genoa, meanwhile, will be without captain Luca Antonelli and Andrea Bertolacci through suspension, while Alessandro Matri’s injury means he will miss out again with Iago Falque deputising, and Rolando Mandragora looks set to replace Stefano Sturaro in central midfield.
Form Guide: Genoa (L-L-D-L-D-L) Fiorentina (W-D-L-W-W-D)
Expected Starting XIs
Genoa: Perin; Roncaglia, Burdisso, De Maio; Edenilson, Rincon, Mandragora, Antonini; Iago, Fetfatzidis, Perotti.
Fiorentina: Tatarusanu; Tomovic, Rodriguez, Basanta; Joaquin, Fernandez, Valero, Kurtic, Pasqual; Babacar, Gomez.
