Although casual calcio fans may not realise it, Genoa and Juventus have a long-standing rivalry in Italian football.
On Friday night, the long-time rivals will lock horns once more, as the teams meet at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa.
📽️💪 @2DaniLuiz coming out on 🔝 in this duel ⚔️😤 pic.twitter.com/qobah1OtUI— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) December 12, 2023
📽️💪 @2DaniLuiz coming out on 🔝 in this duel ⚔️😤 pic.twitter.com/qobah1OtUI
The home team will limp into Friday night’s match after failing to win any of their last three games.
The Grifone are 14th in Serie A’s standings but only three points above the relegation zone.
Juventus are in a title fight with Inter and can go top of the league with a victory at Genoa.
The Bianconeri are in fantastic form, unbeaten in eight straight games, with seven of those fixtures ending in victories.
Maximiliano Allegri’s team can go top of the Serie A standings with a win. They will begin Friday two points behind Inter.
A victory would put Juve in the lead and place pressure on the Nerazzurri to win against Lazio in Rome on Sunday night.
Juventus won five of their last six matches versus Genoa in all competitions.
Genoa’s only win during that time came in the teams’ most recent Serie A meeting in 2022. The Grifone won 2-1 at home but were relegated at the end of the campaign.
The Bianconeri’s recent matches in Serie A were low scoring. Eight of the club’s last 10 fixtures ended with under 2.5 goals scored.
Based on Juve’s low scoring results and Genoa’s inability to put the ball in the back of the net – 15 goals in 15 games – Friday’s match should be a low-scoring affair.
Genoa took seven points from the last six games, scoring five times and conceding six goals.
Eleven of their 15 points have come from home, making them a difficult team to defeat at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
Juventus picked up 16 points from the last six games, scoring eight goals and conceding three times. Juve won their last three away matches, keeping two clean sheets during that period.
Allegri has two players missing for Friday. Nicolo Fagioli is suspended for the fixture. Meanwhile, Mattia De Sciglio is rehabbing an ACL injury.
Genoa coach Alberto Gilardino will be without influential midfielder Kevin Strootman. The defensive linchpin is recovering from a hamstring injury and will be out until January.
Juventus are in fine form and should go top of the table with a 2-0 win over Genoa away. Although Genoa play well at home, they will drop points to Juventus.