Roma have lost their last two matches in Serie A and the pressure has been turned up on Jose Mourinho. After a great start to the campaign, Roma have struggled in recent weeks.
It has all been very similar to the issues Mourinho had last season at Tottenham Hotspur. Along with on pitch form issues, Mourinho has had no issue throwing his players under the bus.
Building towards Sunday... #ASRoma #GenoaRoma pic.twitter.com/iv01gkYUtK— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) November 17, 2021
Building towards Sunday... #ASRoma #GenoaRoma pic.twitter.com/iv01gkYUtK
On Sunday, Roma will visit the Stadio Luigi Ferraris to play a Genoa team they haven’t lost to since 2013-14. Genoa have claimed a mere one win this season and are now entering the Andriy Shevchenko era.
Davide Ballardini was dismissed during the international break after the team failed to win its last three matches. All three were Serie A six-point relegation battles and Genoa drew all three of those games.
New owners 777 Partners has now officially taken over the historic Italian club. Genoa are low on talent and the new owners will seek to bring in better players in January.
Shevchenko must keep Genoa near safety before then. At the moment, Genoa are outside the relegation zone thanks to a better goal difference than Ligurian rival Sampdoria.
Nineteen matches in all competitions have passed since Genoa defeated Roma. Roma are on a three-game winning streak against Genoa in Serie A. Last season, the Giallorossi did the double over Genoa, outscoring them 4-1.
Shevchenko’s first game in charge sees Genoa potentially without up to eight players. Mattia Destro, Mohamed Fares, Domenico Criscito, Felipe Caicedo, Mattia Bani, Hernani, Nikola Maksimovic, and Zino Vanheusden could all miss the home fixture with Roma.
Mourinho’s injury list is far better than Shevchenko’s for the fixture. Defenders Riccardo Calafiori, Matias Vina, and Chris Smalling are all doubts to play the fixture.
Genoa have Serie A’s worst home points total with just three points from 15 this season. Roma have taken six points from 18 possible on the road. Mourinho’s team hasn’t been great on its travels. Four of Roma’s last five road games ended in losses.
Despite Roma’s poor road form this season, Genoa are playing poorly and have a new, inexperienced coach. Shevchenko’s only previous managerial experience was with the Ukraine national team.
His debut as Genoa coach is likely to go awry as Roma win at the Marassi. Eight of the last nine Serie A games between the clubs finished with both teams scoring and Sunday’s match should see Genoa and Roma tally goals.
Forebet predicts Roma will pick up the win in the end as over 2.5 goals are scored.