Genoavs.Lecce

Having let a famous win slip from their grasp last weekend, the Salentini are only three points clear of the drop zone with 10 games remaining; meanwhile, their hosts sit comfortably in mid-table.

Match preview

For the second straight week, Genoa fought back to secure a precious point last time out, as Maxwel Cornet's second-half strike earned them a share of the spoils in Cagliari.

Following consecutive 1-1 draws, the Grifone occupy 12th place in the Serie A standings, with no fears of a relegation fight to haunt them, nor any prospect of qualifying for Europe.

They have lost just one of their last five games as Patrick Vieira's quiet revolution continues: since the French coach took charge of a struggling side in November, they have accrued 22 points from 16 league fixtures.

Under his watch, no team have conceded fewer goals on home turf than the Rossoblu - with a tally of five only matched by Scudetto contenders Napoli - while keeping several clean sheets has kept them in the hunt for a top-half finish.

Having played eight previous Serie A home games against Lecce without losing - claiming maximum points on six occasions - Genoa will expect to prevail again and pull within five points of 10th-placed Udinese.

In fact, home or away, Lecce have won just one of the clubs' last 15 top-flight meetings - albeit they have also lost only two of the last seven, including January's goalless draw at Via del Mare.

This time, the Giallorossi are in need of points to aid their latest fight for Serie A salvation, after taking two points from their last five matches.

Following 0-0 draws with Bologna and Monza, they were beaten 1-0 by both Udinese and Fiorentina, taking a long goalless drought into last week's home clash with faltering giants AC Milan.

Lecce's top scorer Nikola Krstovic finally found his shooting boots and bagged a brace to put his team on course for an improbable success, but Milan then battled back, as Antonino Gallo's own goal and two late strikes from Christian Pulisic consigned the Salentini to defeat.

They last lost four games on the spin under former boss Luca Gotti, whose successor Marco Giampaolo now aims to avoid that fate upon his return to Stadio Ferarris, where he once managed Genoa's city rivals Sampdoria.

Placed precariously above the relegation zone, Giampaolo and co remain at real risk of dropping down to Serie B, with a number of tough fixtures lying ahead of them.

Genoa Serie A form:

L

D

W

L

D

D

Lecce Serie A form:

W

D

D

L

L

L

Team News

Genoa are still hampered by a long injury list, as Mattia Bani, Junior Messias, Vitinha, Honest Ahanor, Caleb Ekuban and Mario Balotelli are all unavailable, in addition to last week's goalscorer Maxwel Cornet.

Furthermore, Norwegian midfielder Morten Thorsby is struggling with a calf problem and may also miss out.

In better news for fans of the Grifone, mid-range shot specialist Ruslan Malinovskyi made his long-awaited return last time out, more than five months after his previous Serie A appearance. He could now play his 150th match in Italy's top flight, becoming the first Ukrainian to reach that milestone since Milan legend Andriy Shevchenko.

Having recently spoken of his faith in Fabio Miretti, Patrick Vieira should select the former Juventus man again. Since Vieira's arrival, Miretti has played 16 consecutive league games, completing more dribbles (18), creating more chances (16) and taking more shots (19) than any of his teammates.

While Andrea Pinamonti spearheads Genoa's attack, Nikola Krstovic is almost single-handedly keeping Lecce afloat: the Montenegrin striker needs one more goal to reach double figures in Serie A this season.

Only long-term absentee Filip Marchwinski is sidelined for the Salentini, so Marco Giampaolo will have plenty of options to choose from.

Genoa possible starting lineup:

Leali; Sabelli, De Winter, Vasquez, Martin; Badelj, Frendrup; Ekhator, Masini, Miretti; Pinamonti

Lecce possible starting lineup:

Falcone; Guilbert, Baschirotto, Jean, Gallo; Coulibaly, Berisha; Pierotti, Helgason, Morente; Krstovic

We say: Genoa 1-0 Lecce

Both teams average under one goal per game this season, and Lecce have only scored in one of their last five.

Written by

Jonathan O'Shea

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