Genoa vs Crotone
Italian Serie A.
Date: Sunday, 22 January 2017
Kick-Off: 14:00 UK,
Venue: Stadio Luigi Ferraris (Genoa).
Genoa has been on a downward spiral with four straight losses. The team has actually lost five of their last six matches to drop to the 14th spot of the Italian top flight table, 13 points above the bottom three relegation zone and a long 14 points below the second and final Europa League qualifying berth for next season temporarily occupied by fifth-place team AC Milan.
Il Grifone was crushed by last season's Serie B champions, Cagliari Calcio, 1-4, on the road at the Sant'Elia Stadium in their most recent Serie A match last Sunday, as per Sofa Score.
Head coach Ivan Juric's side opened the scoring in the 28th minute with a header from the center of the box by Argentine striker Giovanni Simeone off an assist from Brazilian midfielder Edenilson.
However, the newly-promoted side netted the next four goals, courtesy of a brace by forward Marco Borriello in the 39th and 59th minutes and one goal each from midfielder Joao Pedro and forward Diego Farias in the 44th and 64th minutes respectively, to turn the game around.
Meanwhile, Crotone suffered its third straight defeat and fifth winless effort in their last six matches after a 0-1 nipping in the hands of lowly squad Bologna at their home ground of Ezio Scida Stadium last Saturday, via SkySports.
Swiss midfielder Blerim Dzemaili provided the lone goal of the contest to the visitors, giving head coach Davide Nicola's squad their third consecutive shutout loss as well.
Crotone is currently in the 19th place in the overall standings, inside the bottom three relegation area.
Genoa vs Crotone: Head-to-head statistics
Crotone have lost nine out of their last ten away games.
Genoa have lost only one of eight previous meetings in the Serie B (W3 D4 L1) against Crotone.
Crotone haven’t scored since their 2-1 win against Pescara on December 10th 2016.
Genoa are on a run of four Serie A defeats.
The Grifone have not lost five in a row since January 2015.
Genoa vs Crotone: Prediction
Genoa need to get back on track. They have not lost five in a row in two years and they surely will be loath to see this happen against Crotone. Meanwhile, the only thing preventing the visitors from being bottom of the table is their slightly better goal difference over Pescara.
Crotone have a game in hand, but it’s against Juventus, so that’s not going to help them much when it comes down to it. This will be a golden chance for the Grifone to get the wheels back up and running after some shockingly bad performances and whilst Crotone will play everyone behind the ball, they should be able to grind out a positive result here.
Genoa vs Crotone: Betting tips
Under 2.5 goals at 17/20 (1.85)
Genoa – WIN at 4/7 (1.57).
