Serie A Preview: Juventus vs Genoa – Team News, Lineups & Prediction | OneFootball

Juventus resume their Serie A top-four chase on Easter Monday as they face bottom-half Genoa in a must-win clash at the Allianz Stadium. Sitting three points adrift of fourth-placed Como, Luciano Spalletti’s side cannot afford a slip-up here if they’re to keep their Champions League qualification hopes alive.

The record-time Italian champions headed into the international break in a sorrowful mood after Sassuolo held them to a stomach-wrenching 1-1 draw in Turin. Adding insult to injury, captain Manuel Locatelli squandered a late penalty, inflicting serious damage to Juventus’ top-four hopes.

With only seven games left to play after this round, there’s little margin for error, especially now that Inter handed Juventus a major top-four boost last night. Indeed, the Nerazzurri thrashed sixth-placed Roma 5-2 at San Siro, giving the Bianconeri a huge chance to put some distance between themselves and Gian Piero Gasperini’s team.

Visiting Genoa will be looking to throw a spanner in the works, as the visitors’ fight for survival may not be over just yet. Udinese beat Daniele De Rossi’s charges 2-0 at Stadio Luigi Ferraris on the stroke of the international break, leaving them only six points clear of the bottom three.

Although the gap looks comfortable, the Griffins face a challenging final stretch, with high-profile clashes against Atalanta, Como, and Milan waiting in the wings. Therefore, they will be desperate to upset the apple cart in Turin and end a three-game losing streak against Juventus.

Match Preview

Juventus

Despite dropping two valuable points against Sassuolo, Juventus are currently on a four-game unbeaten run in Serie A (W2, D2) since a 2-0 home loss to Como in late February. However, Spalletti’s men have developed a nasty habit of hemorrhaging points on home soil, going winless in three of their last four league outings at the Allianz Stadium (D2, L1).

On a more promising note, Juventus have been ruthless against sides starting this weekend in the bottom half this term (W10, D4). It’s also worth noting that six of those ten victories came by at least a two-goal margin, highlighting the potential for an emphatic performance in this Easter showdown.

Juventus can draw further confidence from the fact that they’ve kept a clean sheet in their last four meetings with Genoa (W3, D1). As a result, they can go five consecutive Serie A games without conceding against this opposition for the first time since a five-game run between 1964 and 1976.

Genoa

Genoa’s woes in this fixture are long-standing. For context, they’ve lost more times against Juventus than against any other side in the competition (70). As if that’s not concerning enough, their last Serie A victory in Turin dates back to 1991, underscoring the magnitude of the task awaiting the Griffins tonight.

While the visitors’ prospects here look bleak, the Griffins secured a 2-0 win at Hellas Verona on their last road trip. Unfortunately, that triumph served to end a dreadful run of six consecutive Serie A away games without winning (D3, L3), with De Rossi’s side failing to get on the scoresheet three times in that sequence.

However, defying the odds and tradition would see Genoa win back-to-back away matches in Serie A under the same manager for the first time since May 2021. That doesn’t look likely, given that they’ve suffered five defeats across seven away league clashes against current top-nine sides this term (D2).

Team News

With Dusan Vlahovic and Arkadiusz Milik back from injury, Vasilije Adzic remains the only absentee in the home squad. Despite regaining full fitness, Vlahovic is expected to start on the bench, with Kenan Yildiz emerging as the likeliest candidate to spearhead Juventus’ attack in this high-stakes fixture.

As for Genoa, Brooke Norton-Cuffy and Maxwel Cornet are on the sidelines with muscle injuries. With the English wingback still unavailable for selection, Aaron Martin is likely to take his place on the left flank.

Juventus vs Genoa Potential Starting Lineups

Juventus (4-2-3-1): Perin; Kalulu, Bremer, Kelly, Cambiaso; Thuram, Locatelli; Conceicao, McKennie, Boga; Yildiz.

Genoa (3-4-2-1): Bijlow; Marcandalli, Ostigard, Vasquez; Ellertsson, Frendrup, Malinovskyi, Martin; Baldanzi, Vitinha; Colombo.

Juventus vs Genoa Prediction

Failure is not an option for Juventus, whose Champions League ambitions are hanging by a thread. However, they’ve been rock-solid in Turin this season, and we expect them to maintain their dominance in this fixture.