After only picking up one point in five games, Serie A is weakening Genoa I'll try to stop the rot against In-Form Florence when the teams meet on Thursday.

The Viola travel to Marassi on the back of five straight wins, scoring no fewer than 19 goals, while the hosts have brought in an aging star to revive their struggling fortunes.

Game preview

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Third from bottom the ranking list After nine games and a 3-0 defeat to Lazio last weekend, Genoa's second season since returning to Serie A got off to a slow start.

With just seven goals in the league so far, the Grifone's performance is well below expectations after a commendable midfield finish last season.

In fact, no other team has collected fewer points or conceded more goals since the beginning of September, according to the head coach Alberto Gilardino are under pressure to halt their alarming slide sooner rather than later.

With goals in short supply, Genoa's board approved the signing of the colorful striker this week Mario Balotelli – who is returning to the Italian top flight after a four-year absence – hoping to help out the main striker Andrea Pinamonti.

Due to his lack of match fitness, Balotelli is unlikely to play on Thursday as his new club aim for a top-flight victory on home soil. Almost three months ago they beat Reggiana in the Coppa Italia before crashing out to city rivals Sampdoria.

However, history is not on their side: Genoa have only won once in their last 13 meetings with Fiorentina, and that only success came in September 2019.

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Given their brilliant form in recent weeks, Fiorentina will be pushing hard to secure their third consecutive win against Genoa, which would be their record run in the game.

The Viola have been running at full speed since the end of September, winning twice in the Conference League and taking 13 of the last 15 points available in the league.

After six goals against Lecce and four goals against St. Gallen, Raffaele Palladino's men tore apart their top six contenders Roma on Sunday evening Moise Kean He scored a brace in the first half and Edoardo Bove showed an inspired performance against his parent club.

At the final whistle, Fiorentina was able to celebrate their deserved 5-1 win after another move within two points second-placed Inter Milan.

Palladino, who was appointed in the summer, credits his recent decision to make some tactical changes and slightly shuffle his personnel with being richly rewarded for adjusting his plans.

Looking back on last season, Fiorentina have only lost one of their last six away games in Serie A and kept a clean sheet in their last two. The former Monza coach therefore assumes that this will continue at Marassi.

Genoa Serie A Form:

Genoa form (all competitions):

Form of Fiorentina Serie A:

Fiorentina form (all competitions):

Team news

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Genoa are in an injury crisis – partly due to Mario Balotelli being installed as their starting goalkeeper outside the transfer window Pierluigi Gollini joins in Junior Messiah, Mattia Bani, Ruslan Malinovskyi And Vitinha on the edge.

Koni De Winter And Caleb Ekuban will also miss Thursday's game, but captain Milan Badelj appears to have overcome a muscle problem after returning to the bench at the weekend.

Since Balotelli is not yet up to date, Andrea Pinamonti continues to lead the line alone: ​​the Grifone best goalscorer has previously scored three times against Fiorentina in Serie A – each time with different clubs (Frosinone, Empoli and Sassuolo).

In the meantime, the Viola will have to do without the former Genoa striker Albert Gudmundsson, Rolando Mandragora And Marin Pongracic through injury.

After establishing himself in the first team, he was praised by his coach for his skillful handling of Roma Artem Dovbyk last weekend, Pietro Comuzzo has sprained his ankle and could also be out.

Fiorentina could also make further changes to their starting XI due to a busy schedule that takes them to Turin and then Cyprus in the next few days.

Genoa possible starting lineup:
Leali; Sabelli, Vogliacco, Vasquez, Maturro; Zanoli, Badelj, Frendrup, Martin; Miretti; Pinamonti

Possible Fiorentina starting lineup:
De Gea; Dodo, Martinez Quarta, Ranieri, Gosens; Adli, Richardson; Colpani, Beltran, Bove; Kean

We say: Genoa 1-2 Fiorentina

Genoa coach Alberto Gilardino is expected to suffer even more suffering against one of his former clubs as his team is hit hard by injuries.

With Fiorentina in top form, the hosts will have their hands full in defense – and they are missing key players in the final third.

For data analysis of the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this game, please click here.

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