Genoa vs Napoli – Italian Serie A

Match: Genoa Vs Napoli

Date: 6th February 2021

Place (venue): Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa

Tournament: Serie A

Kick-off time: 19:45 (UK)

Caption

Napoli looking to continue their good record against Genoa.

Key Stats

• Napoli sits in the 5th position with 37 points with a chance to jump in the top 4.
• Genoa has not lost any of their last 4 games.
• Genoa will be seeking revenge for their 6-0 loss against the visitors at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

Match Preview

Genoa will be hosting Napoli in Matchweek 21 on Saturday at Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris. After going 12 weeks without a win, Genoa improved their form to move to the 14th position with 21 points. They put 3 in the goal last weekend against Crotone after a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Cagliari a week before that. With six points clear to the relegation zone, the Rossoblus have finally found some fresh air.

Napoli had a stalemate against Atlanta in the Copa Italia semi-final on Wednesday. David Ospina’s wonderful saves kept the Partenopei in the competition. The under-fire boss Gattuso said he is happy with the team performance in the absence of a few key players. A win against Genoa will help Napoli to move to fourth place irrespective of the result of the game between Juventus and Roma.

Genoa Preview

After changing the formation from 4-4-2 to 3-5-2 the new Manager Davide Ballardini, Genoa won 4 out of their 7 games and drew 2. They even made it hard for Juventus in the Copa Italia quarter-final. A 104th-minute goal from Juventus Midfielder Hamza Rafia crushed their chances to qualify for the semis. Ballardini found his knight in Mattia Destro. Destro was one of the most effective strikers in January with 5 goals in 7 games, including a brace in the last game against Crotone.

The new loan signing Kevin Strootman from Marseille has bolstered the midfield in Ballardini’s formation. Ballardini has clearly changed the morale of the leaky defence. They have accepted 3 goals in 7 games (with 4 clean sheets in a row) since his arrival compared to 27 goals in the first 13 games of this season

The Napoli’s attack will be the toughest test Genoa will be facing. They have not beaten the visitors since 29th Jan 2012 home game.

Key Player:  Mattia Destro

Destro is Genoa’s top goalscorer with 9 goals. He has struck 5 of those last month. He has been proving lethal with his partner Eldor Shomurodov. He was recently named as the Player of the Month by Italian Players Association for this month.

Missing Players: Genoa will be without Cristian Zapata, Francesco Cassata, and Davide Biraschi due to injuries.

Probable Starting XI: (GK): Mattia Perin, (Defense): Andrea Masiello Ivan Radovanovic Domenico Criscito, (Midfield): Davide Zappacosta Miha Zajc Kevin Strrotman Milan Badelj Lennart Czyborra, (Attack): Mattia Destro and Eldor Shomurodov.

Last 5 Serie A Matches: W W D W L

Napoli Preview

Napoli has been inconsistent since their loss to Juventus in the Supercoppa Italiana Final. They lost 3-1 to Verona and then went on to win 4-2 against Spezia. The Partenopei played against Atlanta this mid-week. Therefore Gattuso might be forced to make changes keeping the second leg of the Copa Italia next mid-week followed by a visit from Juventus on the weekend. They have already lost Dries Martens to an ankle injury which he is currently getting treated for in Belgium. Midfielder Fabian Ruiz who tested positive for COVID is yet to recover and hence will be missing the game on the weekend. Unfortunately, Napoli didn’t sign anyone in the mid-season window.

Gattuso surprised everyone by opting to play 3-4-3 formation instead of 4-3-3. Though it fetched a draw with Atlanta. It will be interesting to see if he is going to keep using it in Serie A. Gattuso also moved Hirving Lozano to False 9 position but he failed to create chances for Lorenzo Insigne and Matteo Politano. Another person who impressed in the last game was Napoli Goalkeeper David Ospina. He made two outstanding saves to stop Atlanta from scoring an away goal. But seeing the importance of the second leg on Wednesday and the Juventus Clash it looks like Gattuso will choose Alex Meret to rest Ospina.

Key player: Lorenzo Insigne

The Napoli top-scorer has not scored a goal in the last 2 Serie game and in the semi-final of Copa Italia. He has scored 9 goals and has provided 3 assists.

Missing Players: Dries Mertens (Ankle Injury), Fabian Ruiz (Covid)

Probable Starting XI : (GK): Alex Meret, (Defence)Mario Rui, Kalidou Koulibaly, Kostas Manolas, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, (Midfield): Tiemoue Bakayoko, Diego Demme, Eljif Elmas, (Attack): Hirving Lozano, Lorenzo Insigne, Piotr Zielinski

Last 5 Serie A matches: W L W W L

Genoa vs Napoli: Head to Head

Napoli and Genoa have a long history since 1982 when both managed a draw to get promoted to Serie A next season. Both teams have faced each other 97 times. Napoli has managed to win 38 out of them. Genoa has emerged victorious 25 times. Genoa has not registered a single win against Napoli in the last 17 games. In fact, their last win came at Stadio Luigi Ferraris in January 2012.

Head2Head: 

Serie A: 97 Games – Napoli: 38; Genoa: 25; Draw: 34.

At Stadio Luigi Ferraris: 48 Games – Genoa: 18; Napoli: 13; Draw: 17.

Our Prediction

Napoli has 13 more points than what they had last season at this stage. Gattuso has built this squad with a belief to fight for the Scudetto. With 43 goals scored they have one of the best attacks in Serie A. Defensively, they are the second-best team next to Juventus while Genoa has just shown up for the battle. Therefore, we predict Napoli will win the game against Genoa.

Disclaimer: Our match previews are fully researched but as per the nature of the game, anything is possible on the match day. You are advised to decide for yourself when betting on a team. Thanks.