Carpi at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Sunday afternoon in Serie A.
While the Rossoblu are sandwiched in the mid-table position of 13th on 16 points, Carpi are rooted to the bottom of the Serie A table on six points, desperately in need of three points to give themselves a chance of surviving the drop.
There will be a huge sigh of relief and a lot more optimism amongst the Genoa fans on Sunday as the team finally ended their four match winless streak with a hard fought 2-1 win against Sassuolo last week. On the other hand, Carpi’s dismal start to the season continued, as they lost 2-1 to Chievo at the Stadio Alberto Braglia.
Although the Rossoblu have had a very indifferent start to the season, their home form has been quite intact – the only defeat being a 2-0 loss to Juventus early in the season. In stark contrast, Carpi’s away record reads five losses and one draw, a fact that is likely to further dent their hopes of the travelling fans.
Also, this is the first time that these two sides are involved in a Serie A match.
Genoa coach Gian Piero Gasperini would be placing his bets on the top goal-scorer for the club, Leonardo Pavoletti, who has been in sensational form of late, scoring three goals in the past four league games.
As far as the away side are concerned, they are yet to record a win since early October when they defeated Torino 2-1. Therefore, club coach Fabrizio Castori could consider himself a happy man even if his side manages a draw on Sunday afternoon considering that they play away from home. Also, the fact that his side have conceded the most number of goals in Serie A this season will likely be taken into account while laying down the tactics for this game.
Gasperini could be sweating over the fitness of Oliver Ntcham for this game while defenders Giovanni Marchese and Ezequiel Munoz have been ruled out. For counterpart Castori, defender Nicolas Spolli, midfielders Andrea Lazzari and Matteo Fedele, and centre forward Marco Borriello have been ruled out on account of injuries.
Form Guide: Genoa (W-D-D-D-L) Carpi (L-L-D-L-L)
Expected Starting XIs
Genoa: Perin; Ansaldi, Burdisso, Izzo; Laxalt, Tino Costa, Rincon, Figueiras; Pandev, Pavoletti, Lazovic
Carpi: Belec; Gabriel Silva, Gagliolo, Zaccardo, Letizia; Pasciuti, Bianco, Marrone, Matos; Lollo, Mbakogu.
