Meanwhile, Crotone, who remain at the foot of the table having lost 13 top-flight matches this season, have not won any of their last five league games against sides currently in the bottom five.

Match preview

Crotone manager Giovanni Stroppa pictured in January 2021 © Reuters

Crotone failed to build on a brilliant 4-1 victory over Benevento two weeks ago as they narrowly lost 2-1 away to Fiorentina last weekend.

Giovanni Stroppa's side pulled a goal back in the second half through Simy after conceding twice in the first 32 minutes, but the visitors were not able to complete a comeback and remain the only Serie A side yet to win away from home.

Crotone will be pleased that their next league encounter is at the Stadio Ezio Scida, a stadium where they have performed well recently. Lo Squalo Calabrese have won three of their last four home matches in Serie A – scoring 11 goals in the process – after failing to win any of their first five on home soil this campaign.

However, Crotone have failed to win any of their five top-flight encounters with Genoa, drawing one and losing the other four, including a 4-1 defeat earlier this season.

Securing a much-needed victory on Sunday could see Stroppa's men move off the foot of the table and out of the relegation zone for the first time since the opening day of the season back in September.

Davide Ballardini, now in charge of Genoa, pictured in January 2018 © Reuters

Genoa's impressive run of form in the league continued last weekend as they secured a slender 1-0 home victory over Cagliari.

Mattia Destro's 10th-minute strike was enough to secure their fourth win of the season and move them four points above the relegation zone.

Since Davide Ballardini returned to the Rossoblu as manager on 21st December, only five teams have gained more points than Genoa in the Italian top-flight; three wins and two draws from their last six matches has proven that the Grifone are capable of competing at this level.

One aspect Ballardini would like to see improve, however, is their away form; Genoa have won only one of their nine matches on the road this campaign and have scored the fewest goals away from home in Serie A, finding the net just five times.

Securing another victory on Sunday could see Genoa move up to 12th in the table, seven points clear of 18th-placed Torino, who they face in two weeks.

Crotone Serie A form: WLLLWL

Genoa Serie A form: WDLWDW
Genoa form (all competitions): DLWLDW

Team News

Genoa celebrate a goal against AC Milan in Serie A in March 2020 © Reuters

Crotone trio Luca Cigarini (calf), Salvatore Molina (fractured arm) and Emmanuel Riviere (muscle fatigue) are all ruled out with injuries.

Argentine centre-back Lisandro Magallan could return to the starting lineup at the expense of Koffi Djidji.

Genoa are still without Cristian Zapata (Achilles tendon), Francesco Cassata (muscle fatigue) and Davide Biraschi (shoulder) as they are all suffering with injuries.

Ballardini could name the same starting XI that beat Cagliari last weekend, which would see Eldor Shomurodov play up front alongside top goalscorer Destro.

Crotone possible starting lineup:
Cordaz; Magallan, Marrone, Luperto; Pereira, Eduardo, Zanellato, Vulic, Reca; Simy, Messias

Genoa possible starting lineup:
Perin; Masiello, Radovanovic, Criscito; Zappacosta, Zajc, Badelj, Strootman, Czyborra; Shomurodov, Destro

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We say: Crotone 2-2 Genoa

Genoa have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three matches, although they may find if difficult to secure their fourth in a row against a Crotone side that have scored in eight of their last nine Serie A games. Sunday's clash is expected to be a close encounter, and both sides may have to settle for a point.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

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 Crotone win with a probability of 41.4%. A win for Genoa had a probability of 32.54% and a draw had a probability of 26.1%.

The most likely scoreline for a Crotone win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.15%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.75%) and 2-0 (7.16%). The likeliest Genoa win was 0-1 (8.78%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.39%). The actual scoreline of 0-3 was predicted with a 2.2% likelihood.