Genoa play host to Venezia on Sunday with both teams looking to move away from the relegation zone.

Although Genoa sit in 17th position in the Serie A table, they are just one point ahead of their bottom-placed opponents.

Match preview

After finishing in 16th spot last season, Daniele de Rossi knew that he had work ahead to return Genoa to the mid-table spots in Serie A as a bare minimum.

Starting the campaign with three successive defeats was far from ideal, yet context was required with those fixtures being against Napoli, Lazio and Como.

In the four matches that have followed, Genoa have accumulated four points, the first coming from a comeback draw versus Frosinone before they returned from the international break to edge out Fiorentina by a 2-1 scoreline.

While the 2-0 defeat at Roma last weekend represented a fifth defeat in seven games, De Rossi's side appear to be on an upward trajectory.

Not only have Genoa netted in their last three home fixtures, half of the eight goals conceded at Stadio Luigi Ferraris came in the 4-1 reverse against Como.

As for newly-promoted Venezia, sacking Giovanni Stroppa after six successive defeats has had the desired effect.

The appointment of Davide Nicola on October 14 was followed by a 1-0 victory over Napoli three days later.

On the back of conceding 16 goals in six matches, Venezia withstood the attacking quality of the 2024-25 Serie A champions to kick-start their campaign.

Two of Venezia's three away games have been against AC Milan and Atalanta BC respectively, contributing to eight goals being conceded in fixtures on their travels.

Nicola is no stranger to Genoa having had a 22-game stint as manager between December 2019 and August 2020, recording eight wins and five draws during that period.

Genoa Serie A form:

Venezia Serie A form:

Team News

Despite the defeat at Stadio Olimpico, De Rossi will be against making many alterations to his Genoa XI.

Former Preston North End forward Milutin Osmajic is their leading marksman with three goals, the Montenegro international most recently playing a part in both goals in the win over Fiorentina.

While Lorenzo Colombo is sidelined, Alex Amorim made his return to the squad last time out after an ankle injury.

Barring any fresh injury issues, Nicola is unlikely to tinker with the 3-5-2 setup that proved effective against Napoli.

Akor Adams's goal in that game was his second in his last three outings, and the Nigerian should lead the line with John Yeboah.

Thierry Correia is a fitness doubt, but centre-back Armel Bella-Kotchup is among those expected to remain sidelined.

Genoa possible starting lineup:

Bijlow; Vasquez, Marcandalli, Ostigard; Ellertsson, Frendrup, Wiafe, Puczka; Messias, El Shaarawy; Osmajic

Venezia possible starting lineup:

Stankovic; Jesus, Halhal, Moreno; Hainaut, Perez, Basic, Sohm, Haps; Yeboah, Adams

We say: Genoa 2-1 Venezia

With these teams having recorded eye-catching wins since the international break, we expect a contest between two sides growing in confidence. Despite Venezia's triumph over Napoli, we are backing Genoa to make the most of home advantage to move clear of the relegation zone.

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