After picking up just one point from five games, Serie A strugglers Genoa will try to stop the rot against in-form Fiorentina when the teams meet on Thursday.
The Viola head for Marassi on the back of five straight wins, racking up no fewer than 19 goals in the process, while the hosts have called upon an ageing star to help revive their ailing fortunes.
Match preview
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Third from bottom of the standings after nine matches, after they were beaten 3-0 by Lazio last weekend, Genoa's second season since returning to Serie A has started sluggishly.
Having scored just seven league goals so far, the Grifone are performing well below expectations following a commendable mid-table finish last term.
In fact, since the start of September, no other team has earned fewer points or conceded more goals, leaving head coach Alberto Gilardino under pressure to halt their alarming slide sooner rather than later.
With goals at a premium, the Genoa board this week sanctioned the signing of colourful striker Mario Balotelli - who returns to Italy's top tier after four years away - in the hope of helping out main frontman Andrea Pinamonti.
Due to arriving as a free agent lacking match-fitness, Balotelli is not likely to play on Thursday, when his new club will seek a first league win on home turf - they did beat Reggiana in the Coppa Italia nearly three months ago, before crashing out to city rivals Sampdoria.
History is not on their side, however: Genoa have won only once in their last 13 meetings with Fiorentina, and that sole success came back in September 2019.
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Given their scintillating form over the past few weeks, Fiorentina will go all guns blazing for a third straight away victory over Genoa, which would be their record run in this fixture.
The Viola have clicked into top gear since the end of September, winning twice in the Conference League and taking 13 points from the last 15 available in the league.
After scoring six against Lecce and putting four past St Gallen, Raffaele Palladino's men pulled apart fellow top-six contenders Roma on Sunday evening, with Moise Kean bagging a first-half brace and Edoardo Bove producing an inspired performance against his parent club.
At the final whistle, Fiorentina could toast a deserved 5-1 victory, having also moved within two points of second-placed Inter Milan.
Appointed in the summer, Palladino has credited a recent decision to make some tactical tweaks and slightly shuffle his personnel, and he has been richly rewarded for adjusting his plans.
Stretching back to last season, Fiorentina have lost only one of their last six Serie A away fixtures - keeping clean sheets in both of the last two - so the ex-Monza manager will expect to continue in that vein at Marassi.
Team News
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Genoa are amid an injury crisis - partly accounting for Mario Balotelli's arrival outside the transfer window - as first-choice goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini joins Junior Messias, Mattia Bani, Ruslan Malinovskyi and Vitinha on the sidelines.
Koni De Winter and Caleb Ekuban will also miss Thursday's game, but captain Milan Badelj seems to have overcome a muscular problem, having returned to the bench at the weekend.
With Balotelli not yet up to speed, Andrea Pinamonti continues to lead the line alone: the Grifone's top scorer has previously found the net three times against Fiorentina in Serie A - all with different clubs (Frosinone, Empoli and Sassuolo).
Meanwhile, the Viola will be without ex-Genoa striker Albert Gudmundsson, Rolando Mandragora and Marin Pongracic through injury.
After establishing himself in the first team, drawing praise from his coach for expertly handling Roma's Artem Dovbyk last weekend, Pietro Comuzzo has sprained an ankle and may also miss out.
Due to a busy fixture list which takes them to Turin and then Cyprus in the next few days, Fiorentina may also make more changes to their starting XI.
Genoa possible starting lineup:
Leali; Sabelli, Vogliacco, Vasquez, Matturro; Zanoli, Badelj, Frendrup, Martin; Miretti; Pinamonti
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Dodo, Martinez Quarta, Ranieri, Gosens; Adli, Richardson; Colpani, Beltran, Bove; Kean
We say: Genoa 1-2 Fiorentina
Genoa boss Alberto Gilardino is set to suffer more misery against one of his former clubs, as injuries have bitten his squad hard.
With Fiorentina in red-hot form, the hosts will have their hands full at the back - and they are missing key men throughout the final third.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
