Genoavs.Udinese

The hosts still trail their visitors by five points in the Serie A standings, after both were beaten last week.

Match preview

Although Genoa left Turin empty-handed last Saturday, they managed to have more possession than - and an equal number of shots to - their hosts Juventus.

A 1-0 loss left Patrick Vieira's men 12th in the table, with no fears of a relegation fight to concern them, nor any prospect of qualifying for Europe.

That result represented another failure on the road, but the Grifone have won four of their five home fixtures in 2025, drawing the other: an average of 2.60 points per game is the fourth-highest rate in Serie A this year.

Such strength at Marassi has kept Genoa in touch with the top half, and another home victory would take them closer to snatching a place in Italy's top 10.

Unbeaten in six games against Udinese - keeping a clean sheet in four of the last five - a repeat of December's 2-0 away win will narrow the gap between the mid-table rivals, who are only separated by 11th-placed Torino.

Despite putting up a spirited fight at San Siro, Udinese's last away win over Inter Milan still dates back to 2017, after they lost to the Nerazzurri for a third time this season - including once in the Coppa Italia.

Last week, the Friulani found themselves two goals down before the half-hour mark, and even Oumar Solet's superb solo goal could not quite inspire a full turnaround.

Since signing in January, the French centre-back has made quite an impact, completing more dribbles (19) than any other Serie A defender; furthermore, he is one of just four to make more than 50 ball recoveries and win more than 50 duels this calendar year.

However, his team's previous streak of six games without defeat has been followed by losses either side of the international break - versus relegation-threatened Hellas Verona and Scudetto-chasing Inter.

Only once have Udinese suffered three consecutive league defeats under Kosta Runjaic, who inherited a squad that narrowly avoided relegation last year, so the German coach will be keen to get back on track.

While they have put several big clubs to the test in recent weeks, nine of the Bianconeri's 11 wins have come against sides situated below them in the table, and another would pull them further clear of Genoa.

Genoa Serie A form:

W

L

D

D

W

L

Udinese Serie A form:

W

W

W

D

L

L

Team News

Not only can Patrick Vieira recall first-choice left-back Aaron Martin, who served a suspension against Juventus, but Portuguese forward Vitinha will be back at his disposal on Friday evening.

Maxwel Cornet and Junior Messias have both resumed partial training but remain major doubts, while Mattia Bani and Honest Ahanor are still sidelined by injury.

Fabio Miretti and Ruslan Malinovskyi should recover from their respective illnesses, after the latter was consigned to the bench last week and Jean Onana made his first Serie A start.

Up front, Andrea Pinamonti has not registered any goals or assists across his last five appearances, but he has scored four times against Udinese to date - including once in this season's reverse fixture.

The visitors will be without veteran striker Alexis Sanchez, reserve goalkeeper Razvan Sava and long-term absentee Isaak Toure, while French forward Florian Thauvin is still struggling with a foot problem.

Jordan Zemura sustained a calf injury in training last week, so he could be out of action until the end of April, meaning Hassane Kamara is set to continue on the left flank.

Once again, top scorer Lorenzo Lucca - who has drawn plenty of transfer interest from top teams across Europe - leads the Bianconeri's attack.

Genoa possible starting lineup:

Leali; Sabelli, De Winter, Vasquez, Martin; Frendrup, Masini; Zanoli, Malinovskyi, Miretti; Pinamonti

Udinese possible starting lineup:

Okoye; Kristensen, Bijol, Solet; Ehizibue, Lovric, Karlstrom, Ekkelenkamp, Kamara; Bravo, Lucca

We say: Genoa 1-1 Udinese

These clubs are completely equal in their last 10 meetings at Stadio Ferraris, with two wins each, six draws and 13 goals apiece.

Written by

Jonathan O'Shea

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