ITALY: Serie A
Date: 17-01-22
Time: 8:45 PM
Venue: Stadio Artemio Franchi (Florence)
A run of three winless Serie A (SA) games has dented Fiorentina’s hopes of securing European football for the first time since 2016/17 (D2, L1). It looks a different story on home soil though, with the club boasting a six-game unbeaten SA run (W5, D1), and a fast start may hold the key to adding another win to their tally, as all five of those victories saw Fiorentina net in the first half.
That ability to get going quickly has helped Fiorentina lead at half-time in their last seven SA home wins, although their last home outing against Sassuolo (2-2) marked the first time they had trailed at the break in a SA home game since April!
Ukraine legend Andriy Shevchenko didn’t have the desired effect at relegation-threatened Genoa, failing to win any of his nine SA games in charge (D3, L6) before being relieved of his duties on Saturday. Genoa are now in a worse position (19th) than when Shevchenko arrived (17th), and despite his goalscoring prowess from his playing days, his side never scored more than a single goal in a SA game under his stewardship.
In truth, Genoa’s position could be much more precarious considering they are the only side across Europe’s top-five leagues without a win from September 18th/19th onwards. Yet there is still a glimmer of hope for Genoa in their battle to get points on the board, as they are unbeaten in four of their last six SA away games (D4, L2), and have drawn five straight SA H2Hs at this venue. No league victory at this venue in 22 attempts since 1976/77 (D11, L11) adds a little perspective, however.
Players to watch: Cristiano Biraghi was on the scoresheet in Fiorentina’s Coppa Italia victory over Napoli in midweek, and is currently enjoying his joint-best goalscoring season (three). Genoa’s Domenico Criscito could provide a timely return after his negative Covid test – incredibly, his last 13 goals have come from the penalty spot!
.Recent Stats:
- Fiorentina’s form in last 5 matches: DLDDW.
- Genoa’s form in last 5 matches: DLDDL.
PREDICTION: Home and Over 1.5
