Fresh from the impressive away win over Lazio, Genoa play host to Hellas Verona, hoping to further improve their chances of clinching European qualification. Meanwhile, the Gialloblue suffered another disappointing defeat and they could easily slip into the danger zone should they lose at Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

Genoa back to winning ways

Having experienced several very difficult years for the club, Genoa are slowly returning to where they belong, with experienced coach Gian Piero Gasperini doing a great job this season. The Rossoblu enjoyed a bright start to the league campaign, quickly climbing to the top half of the standings, before they suffered a dip in form near the end of last year. Good performances in matches against Napoli and Fiorentina hinted the team would soon come good, and Genoa in turn achieved that morale-boosting win they had craved for by defeating Champions League hopefuls Lazio on the road. The squad have undergone some changes this winter, but while Alessandro Marti and Luca Antonelli were the only important players to leave, the likes of Niang, Tino Costa, Borriello, Laxalt and Bergdich all arrived. Genoa are now brimming with confidence ahead of the clash with out-of-sorts Hellas Verona and they will see this match as a perfect opportunity to further close the gap behind European positions. With Nicolas Burdisso back to the side, the back line should look even stronger on Sunday afternoon.

Apart from Tino Costa and Giovanni Marchese, Gian Piero Gasperini will have fully fit squad to choose from for the Verona game.

Verona on the downtrend

Hellas Verona enjoyed one of their most successful seasons in recent years last term, when they narrowly missed out on European qualification, but it looks as though they won’t be able to repeat the feat any time soon. The club have seen quite a few important players leave in the summer and having failed to sign proper replacements, nobody was surprised to see the Gialloblu in the bottom part of the standings. And while Luca Toni continues to defy his years and score goals on fairly regular basis, the likes of Javier Saviola and Juan Gomez Taleb are not chipping in as much as they should, as witnessed by the record of just 24 goals in 22 matches. Due to team’s attacking style of play, the back line concede almost two goals per game on average, and with all that in mind, this is clearly a bad time to be facing revived Genoa. Verona are going through a very rough patch at the moment, having lost four of last five matches in all competitions, and with the team now in danger of getting involved in the relegation tussle, they will be under additional pressure at Satdio Luigi Ferraris.

Goalkeeper Rafael is doubtful through a shoulder injury, but Guillermo Rodriguez and Jacopo Sala are definitely out.

Verdict

Genoa recovered well from the minor dip in form and the impressive away triumph over Lazio is enough to suggest they should be regarded hot favourites in this match. Meanwhile, Verona cannot seem to find the form that served them so well last term and they also lack the quality to get something from Liguria.

Top pick: Home win   1.95 (19/20) @ William Hill

Alternative pick 1: Over 2.5 goals   1.95 (19/20) @ Betfair

Alternative pick 2: Genoa/Genoa   3.20 (11/5) @ BetVictor