Two teams seeking mid-table security clash at Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Sunday, as in-form Genoa take on faltering Lecce.
While the visitors have slipped down the Serie A standings following five games without a win, their hosts have started 2024 unbeaten.
Match preview
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Not only have Genoa avoided defeat throughout their last six Serie A matches, but such new-found resilience has also helped them move further clear of the relegation zone.
Last week's 2-1 win over Salernitana featured goals from both of the Grifone's star strikers, Mateo Retegui and leading scorer Albert Gudmundsson, and victory saw them up to 11th in the league table.
Only Italy's top three - Calcio giants Inter Milan, Juventus and AC Milan - have joined Genoa in remaining unbeaten since mid-December, so the Ligurian side's target of Serie A survival looks ever more achievable.
Following their success in Salerno, Alberto Gilardino's men must now make the most of two more games against teams towards the wrong end of the standings: after welcoming Lecce to Marassi for Sunday's early kickoff, the Rossoblu will visit Empoli for their first February fixture.
Genoa are unbeaten at home to Lecce in Serie A, with five wins and two draws from the clubs' previous top-flight encounters, and present form suggests they can be confident of continuing such supremacy.
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After winning September's reverse fixture 1-0 at Via del Mare, Lecce are now looking to do the double over Genoa for the first time ever in Serie A - prior to that victory, the Salento side had won only one of 14 previous league matches against the Grifone.
However, achieving such a feat depends on recovering from a wretched run of results either side of the New Year, as the Giallorossi have lost four of their last five matches while scoring just once in the process.
Soundly beaten 3-0 by Juventus last week, after a goalless first half had given them some hope, head coach Roberto D'Aversa has a headache to resolve in attack, with Nikola Krstovic and Roberto Piccoli both off the boil.
Still without a single away win to their name this season, Lecce have drawn half and lost the other half of 10 games on their travels, so finding a solution to such woes sooner rather than later could hold the key to avoiding a relegation dogfight.
The Salentini certainly do not produce their best when on the road, and another loss at Genoa - to whom they trail by four points - could see them sucked back towards Serie A's bottom three.
Team News
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Although Alberto Gilardino led his Genoa side to victory last time out, midfield duo Milan Badelj and Morten Frendrup picked up bookings that will see them miss Sunday's game through suspension.
Morten Thorsby and Koni De Winter could therefore come into the starting XI, with the latter now returning from a one-match ban, but Gilardino will still be missing several men due to injury - Stefano Sabelli, Junior Messias and recent loan signing Emil Bohinen being the most notable.
Up front, Mateo Retegui should be supported by Albert Gudmundsson, who has scored nine of the Grifone's 22 league goals this season and could become the first Genoa player to reach double figures in successive league campaigns since Diego Milito in 2005.
Lecce have far fewer concerns relating to injury, as only Kastriot Dermaku is a minor doubt for their trip to Marassi; Hamza Rafia, Ahmed Touba and Lameck Banda are all due to return from the Africa Cup of Nations, but none is expected to start.
Chief creator Remi Oudin - who scored in September's reverse fixture - ranks top among the Giallorossi's squad for both chances created (33) and chances produced from set-pieces (12), and he will be looking to lay on a goal for misfiring striker Nikola Krstovic, or the Montenegrin's deputy, Roberto Piccoli.
Genoa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; De Winter, Bani, Vogliacco; Spence, Thorsby, Strootman, Malinovskyi, Vasquez; Gudmundsson; Retegui
Lecce possible starting lineup:
Falcone; Gendrey, Baschirotto, Pongracic, Gallo; Gonzalez, Ramadani, Kaba; Almqvist, Krstovic, Oudin
We say: Genoa 2-1 Lecce
Four of Genoa's last six Serie A strikes have come courtesy of dead-ball situations, while Lecce conceded their eighth headed goal last weekend - a league high in that category. Even if the home side cannot break through in general play, they could therefore make the most of their set-pieces.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
