Genoa play host to Empoli on Sunday looking to record just their second league victory of the season as they bid to remain in Serie A.
While the home team are eight points adrift of safety, Empoli have recently dropped down to 13th position in the standings after a prolonged winless streak.
Match preview
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Having recorded five successive draws in Serie A, Genoa have undoubtedly improved since Alexander Blessin was appointed as the club's new boss in January.
However, despite the plaudits that they received for holding Inter Milan to a goalless draw last time point, a point is not enough, with Il Grifone running out of time to move into 17th place.
With 11 matches remaining, Genoa still sit eight points behind a Cagliari team who have put together a five-match unbeaten streak, and it leaves Blessin with little option but to throw caution to the wind.
For a team who have scored just twice in seven matches, that is easier said than done, but Genoa need Kelvin Yeboah to finally end his drought since signing from Sturm Graz in January.
At a time when Genoa have gone 24 Serie A matches without success, Empoli have put together their own unwanted streak having failed to win in 10 games.
When they defeated Napoli on December 12, boss Aurelio Andreazzoli would have been anticipating a minimum of a top-10 finish, perhaps even an attempt to secure European football.
However, Gli Azzurri are now down in 13th position, five points adrift of 10th and possessing the second-worst defensive record in the division.
Empoli did show improvements last weekend, though, as they only succumbed to a 3-2 defeat against improving Juventus, the game being level until their opponents netted on the brink of half time.
The reverse fixture between these two clubs took place on November 5, with Genoa netting a last-minute equaliser to secure a 2-2 draw.
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Team News
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Having picked up an injury last time out, Genoa defender Nikola Maksimovic misses out, potentially forcing Johan Vasquez to move into a more central position.
Riccardo Calafiori may return at left-back, while Mattia Destro will hope to return to the frontline after remaining as an unused substitute last time out.
Andrea Cambiaso has also joined a lengthy injury Genoa injury list, although he may have only started among the replacements.
Empoli will be without defender Ardian Ismajli after the Albanian collected his fifth yellow card of the season against Juventus.
Fabiano Parisi could return at left-back to take the place of Liberato Cacace.
Genoa possible starting lineup:
Sirigu; Hefti, Ostigard, Vasquez, Calafiori; Sturaro, Badelj; Gudmundsson, Melegoni, Yeboah; Destro
Empoli possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Stojanovic, Tonelli, Luperto, Parisi; Zurkowski, Asllani, Bandinelli; Henderson, Bajrami; Pinamonti
We say: Genoa 1-1 Empoli
All things considered, this is a game which Genoa need to win, and we expect them to go all out for three points. However, Empoli will be satisfied with a draw at this stage, and the visitors could do enough to earn a share of the spoils.
Top 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 Empoli win with a probability of 43.54%. A win for Genoa had a probability of 31.3% and a draw had a probability of 25.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Empoli win was 0-1 with a probability of 9.51%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.05%) and 0-2 (7.23%). The likeliest Genoa win was 1-0 (7.82%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.89%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 6.3% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a draw in this match.
