The two sides coming into this weekend mired in the bottom half of Serie A, Parma and Genoa go head-to-head on Monday at Stadio Tardini, both needing to snap an winless skid going back to August. Relegation fears start to creep into their heads as both teams will want that vital three points.
Match Preview
Parma’s Recent Struggles
Despite putting in a genuine fight in their 2-2 draw against Juventus, Parma let the lead slip once again-a theme that has been all too constant this season. Goals from first Enrico Del Prato and then Simon Sohm put Parma ahead on two separate occasions, though Juventus equalled each time. It means that the Gialloblu have lost an incredible 12 points from winning positions-a statistic bettered only by Valencia across Europe’s top five leagues.
The side of Fabio Pecchia has won only once in 10 Serie A games since their promotion, drawing the last four. Another draw on Monday would equal a club record, but Pecchia will be hoping for a much-needed win against one of the few teams below them in the standings.
Recent history is firmly in Parma’s corner as they’ve enjoyed five wins from their last six Serie A clashes with Genoa. They also came away with a 2-0 home victory in the most recent matchup back in February 2023, when both sides were in Serie B.
Genoa Still in the Crisis
Rooted to the bottom of the table following a 1-0 home defeat against Fiorentina, Genoa have struggled in almost all aspects this term. After finishing mid-table in their Serie A return last season, they now find themselves with only seven league goals – no team has collected fewer points since the start of September.
Alberto Gilardino’s injury-ravaged squad has scored in just three of their last eight outings and only recently signed free-agent Mario Balotelli in hopes of sparking their offense. As he works his way back to full fitness, Balotelli, Gilardino is under pressure to secure a win to keep himself from losing his head coaching position.
Genoa have been poor on their travels, losing each of their last three away games and leaking ten goals. They will hope to exploit the inconsistency of Parma and battle for a much-needed win.
Team Form
Parma’s Recent Serie A Form: DLDDDD
Genoa’s Recent Serie A Form: LLLDLL
Genoa’s Recent Form (All Competitions): LLLDLL
Team News
Parma
Parma manager Fabio Pecchia might be without midfielder Hernani, who limped off with a muscle injury against Juventus. If he proves unavailable, Hernani will join Alessandro Circati on the sidelines, while Mandela Keita, Adrian Bernabe, and Simon Sohm are expected to retain their places in midfield.
Ange-Yoan Bonny should play up front, while the wings are wide open with Matteo Cancellieri, Valentin Mihaila and Pontus Almqvist competing to start on either side of Dennis Man. The first one is a valuable playmaker with 23 opportunities created in ten appearances but has netted three times at home so far this season.
Genoa
In fact, Genoa have to face a serious injury crisis, given that goalie Pierluigi Gollini and players Koni De Winter, Junior Messias, Mattia Bani, Ruslan Malinovskyi, Vitinha, and Brooke Norton-Cuffy won’t play. In addition, Caleb Ekuban is doubtful, while Balotelli works on his match fitness; therefore, up front, the attack will likely be represented by Andrea Pinamonti, supported by the young gun Jeff Ekhator, only 17 years old.
With such a strong record against Parma, scoring or creating a goal every 63 minutes on average, he will be keen to add to that number.
Predicted Lineups
Parma Possible Starting XI:
Suzuki; Coulibaly, Del Prato, Balogh, Valeri; Keita, Sohm; Man, Bernabe, Mihaila; Bonny
Genoa Possible Starting XI:
Leali; Matturro, Vogliacco, Vasquez; Sabelli, Thorsby, Badelj, Frendrup, Martin; Ekhator, Pinamonti
Prediction: Parma 2-1 Genoa
Recent displays from Parma have promised much, and they should finally profit from a depleted Genoa outfit. Short in numbers and more importantly low on form, the visitors have undoubtedly presented Parma with an outstanding opportunity to record a desperately-needed win and leave their opponents anchored to the foot of the table.
