Napoli will come visiting Genoa under pressure to stay in a close-knit title race, as Antonio Conte will pit his wits against Patrick Vieira.
In recent events tanspiring at Genoa, where their owners went bankrupt, which saw Romanian businessman and Rapid Bucharest owner Don Cacu take over as the majority stakeholder. In what felt like the first order of business, Alberto Gilardino was sacked as manager, with French great Patrick Vieira installed in his place at Genoa, who face Napoli next.
Vieira has gone unbeaten in his first four games in charge, which consists of three draws and a solitary win. In the most recent matchday, Genoa managed to hold off AC Milan to a goalless draw at San Siro, and that result will give the new manager confidence to take on a title-chasing Napoli side.
In truth, Genoa have shown good improvement under the tutelage of Vieira, although there are some questions to be answered by the Frenchman ahead of this clash with Napoli. Genoa do have some advantage for this game at home, as they will be keen to climb up a few places in the Serie A table.
Meanwhile, Napoli will be desperate to make a mark on this fixture and climb into the top spot, even if that lead only lasts for one day. Relentless Serie A leaders Atalanta will only play Empoli on Sunday, which does allow Antonio Conte’s side to put some pressure on Gian Piero Gasperini’s side.
Napoli returned to winning ways after back-to-back defeats to Lazio, first in the Coppa Italia, then in the league. The latter one allowed Atalanta to climb above Conte’s men in the standings as the Serie A title race continues to excite neutrals on a weekly basis.
Sticking with the title race, Napoli are currently under pressure not only to catch Atalanta but also from Inter Milan in third. The Nerazzurri have a game in hand, and on current terms, should they win that, then Simone Inzaghi’s men will be first, and behind them is Fiorentina, who could be level on points with Napoli if they win their game in hand. Overall, this race promises fireworks as the season progresses, as Conte would want to stay in touch at the summit.
Team News & Tactics
Genoa
Patrick Vieira will have to make it without a host of key first-team stars as he prepares to take on Napoli on Saturday. Koni De Winter, Jeff Ekhator, Caleb Ekuban, Junior Messias, and Ruslan Malinovskyi are all absent for the upcoming game, which does create problems for the manager to field a strong lineup.
He has so far managed to get results on board without those stars, meaning whenever Vieira has them back, Genoa could be a stronger force. There are reports of Mario Balotelli suffering from an illness, although the veteran striker is unlikely to get a start even if he was fit to play.
Vieira took barely any time to get rid of a back-three system as he is eager to implement his style on the pitch, which leans towards attacking football more. Top scorer Andrea Pinamonti will lead the line for Genoa against Napoli on Saturday, with Fabio Miretti and Alessandro Zanoli playing right behind him in the advanced roles.
Probable Lineup (4-3-2-1): Leali; Sabelli, Bani, Vasquez, Martin; Frendrup, Badelj, Thorsby; Zanoli, Miretti; Pinamonti
Napoli
Antonio Conte’s side was dealt a severe blow following injury news regarding Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Alessandro Buongiorno. The former is likely to miss games at least until the start of the new year, while there is no timeline regarding the latter, with either player key star for Napoli and their title race.
David Neres is likely to continue in Kvaratskhelia’s left-wing position, while Juan Jesus is set to replace Buongiorno in the backline and partner with Amir Rrahmani at the heart of the defence. There are further fitness doubts with Michael Folorunsho and Pasquale Mazzocchi, although Conte is hopeful to have key midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa back from an illness.
Anguissa is expected to feature in that midfield alongside Stanislav Lobotka, and Conte could use Scott McTominay in an advanced role in the attacking setup. With Kvaratskhelia absent, the burden of shining in the attacking third will once again fall upon Romelu Lukaku, who has seven goals in his last six games against Genoa.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Jesus, Olivera; Anguissa, Lobotka; Politano, McTominay, Neres; Lukaku
Key Stats
- Genoa have kept a clean sheet in their last three matches in Serie A.
- Patrick Vieira is unbeaten in his first four Serie A games.
- Napoli are undefeated in 21 of their last 22 matches against Genoa in all competitions.
- Ronelu Lukaku has scored seven goals in his last six games against Genoa in Serie A.
Player to Watch
Romelu Lukaku
The Belgian striker will have far more pressure on his attacking prowess ahead of the next few games following the medium-term injury to Kvaratskhelia. Conte will want Lukaku at his very best in this period and use his experience to help Napoli get over the line in some crucial games.
As Napoli prepare to visit Genoa, this opponent is also Lukaku’s favourite to score against, having scored seven goals in his last six games in Serie A. Conte will certainly hope for Lukaku to improve on that record come Saturday, as this is certainly a must-win game for the Neapolitan side.
Prediction
Genoa 1-2 Napoli
Patrick Vieira does not have a full-fledged squad to bank upon, although he will still want his players to show the level of competitiveness they did at San Siro last weekend. Hence, there is always hope to get a result, but given where Napoli is in the current standings, it will be an upset of sorts if Genoa manage to beat them.
Meanwhile, Antonio Conte’s side have key injuries to contend with, but he does have a good enough squad to get a result away at Genoa. The pressure is on Napoli to get a win and stay in touch with leaders Atalanta and the chasing pack behind, as they are expected to take three points on Saturday and keep up in the title race.
