Genoa manager Davide Ballardini will be hoping to make it two wins from two when his side host Lazio in Serie A on Sunday.
Ballardini was only appointed two days before he took charge of the 2-1 win over Spezia on December 23 that moved Il Grifone to within a point of safety in 18th place.
Match preview
© Reuters
This is Ballardini's fourth spell at the Genoa helm, and he replaced Rolando Maran who was sacked after leading the club to just one win from their opening 13 matches – with that victory coming all the way back on the opening day against Crotone.
It meant that the three points picked up against Spezia – courtesy of goals from Mattia Destro and Domenico Criscito – ended a 12-game winless run in Serie A for Il Grifone.
It was certainly a dream start for Ballardini, but there is still a long way to go if Genoa are to avoid relegation having been in Serie A since 2007. In the last two campaigns, they have finished just one place above the drop zone and in 2018-19 survived relegation on a head-to-head record.
Their stats at both ends of the pitch this season are certainly cause for concern; they have just one clean sheet to their name - the joint-lowest number in the league - and average the fewest number of shots per game, leading only Crotone and Parma to score fewer goals.
Genoa did pick up a respectable 2-2 draw against league leaders AC Milan in their last home game, ending a run of five consecutive defeats at Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
© Reuters
Lazio lost 3-2 to Milan in their last game but will have been left frustrated not to take at least a point away from San Siro.
After trailing 2-0, goals from Ciro Immobile and Luis Alberto drew I Biancocelesti level, but Theo Hernandez's 93rd-minute header gave Milan the victory.
It continued what has been an inconsistent season so far for Lazio, who currently sit in eighth after finishing fourth last season.
Nonetheless, Simone Inzaghi's side are only three points off the European places and face two more struggling teams – Fiorentina and Parma – in upcoming fixtures before the Rome derby in mid-January.
Powered by the mercurial Immobile, Lazio have scored in all but one of their 14 Serie A games so far this season and won their two games against Genoa last season by an aggregate score of 7-2.
Genoa Serie A form: LDLDLW
Lazio Serie A form: LWLDWL
Lazio form (all competitions): WDLDWL
Team News
© Reuters
Veteran Goran Pandev got a rare start for Genoa against Spezia but has a slight thigh strain so may be replaced by top scorer Gianluca Scamacca.
Davide Zappacosta has worked his way back to full fitness with two substitute appearances so could now be in line for a start, while Christian Zapata is in contention again after a muscle problem.
Lazio's Joaquin Correa was forced off against AC Milan after picking up a calf injury and has been ruled out, with Felipe Caicedo or Vedat Muriqi expected to start upfront.
Centre-back Francesco Acerbi is fit again following a thigh injury, and he should come straight back into the side in place of Luiz Felipe, who has an ankle problem.
Lucas Leiva was also suffering with a thigh problem but should be available on Sunday, potentially meaning that Gonzalo Escalante drops to the bench.
Genoa possible starting lineup:
Perin; Masiello, Radovanovic, Criscito; Ghiglione, Behrami, Badelj, Lerager, Zappacosta; Scamacca, Destro
Lazio possible starting lineup:
Reina; Patric, Acerbi, Radu; Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic, Escalante, Alberto, Marusic; Muriqi, Immobile
We say: Genoa 0-2 Lazio
The return of Davide Ballardini seems to have given Genoa a boost, but Lazio will be a much tougher test for them than Spezia were. I Biancocelesti did not deserve to lose to AC Milan and should returning to winning ways at Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
Top betting tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Lazio win with a probability of 57%. A draw had a probability of 22.3% and a win for Genoa had a probability of 20.66%.
The most likely scoreline for a Lazio win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.09%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.91%) and 0-2 (9.5%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.52%), while for a Genoa win it was 1-0 (5.59%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 10.5% likelihood.
