Genoa are on their third coach of the season. After just nine games in charge, Genoa sacked Andriy Shevchenko. In his place, the club hired Alexander Blessin.
Blessin recently coached Belgium’s Oostende and previously coached in the RB Leipzig youth setup. Now, Blessin is in a relegation fight and must the rot at the Marassi.
Udinese are not out of the woodwork when it comes to relegation. The Bianconeri are 14th in the Serie A standings.
They have lost back-to-back games in the league. Seven points separate Udinese from the bottom three in Serie A.
Earlier this season, Genoa and Udinese played out a dull nil-nil draw at the Stadio Friuli. Blessin will hope that Genoa can improve in attack for this game.
Genoa took just two points from the last 18 points possible in Serie A. The Grifone were outscored 14-3 over the course of their last six games.
Udinese took seven points from the last 18 points possible in the league. They were outscored 12-11 across those six fixtures.
Genoa have the league’s worst home points total with just four points from 10 games this term. All four of those points came from draws.
Udinese have taken nine points from 10 games on the road this season. They have conceded 18 times and scored 15 goals on their travels.
Genoa’s board have sanctioned several transfers this winter to get the club out of relegation danger. Kelvin Yeboah, Silvan Hefti, Johan Vasquez, Riccardo Calafiori, and Leo Ostigard have all joined on loans or permanent deals this winter.
The Grifone have not defeated Udinese since the 2015-16 Serie A season. The Biaconeri are unbeaten in 11 straight games versus Udinese. The teams’ last three matches finished with under 2.5 goals scored.
Blessin has no new injury issues going into the game and will be able to call upon his strongest players. Udinese’s Roberto Pereyra is the only player expected to miss out for Gabriele Cioffi.
Cioffi is Udinese’s caretaker coach. He took over for Luca Gotta in December. After a strong start under Cioffi, the results have taken a downturn in recent fixtures.
Udinese have an excellent head-to-head record against Genoa in Serie A. That record should stay intact as these teams play out a score draw this weekend.
Genoa could get a boost under Blessin. With some new players in the squad, the team could start to show signs of life in the relegation zone.
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