Two struggling sides near the bottom of the Serie A table will face off on Monday evening as promoted Parma host rock-bottom Genoa at the Stadio Ennio Tardini. With both teams desperate for points to climb out of the relegation zone, this match takes on added significance in the battle for top-flight survival.
Parma enter this fixture winless in their last 8 Serie A matches, having drawn their last 4 in a row. Most recently, they earned a creditable 2-2 draw away to Juventus, twice taking the lead before being pegged back. That result continued their frustrating trend of dropping points from winning positions – only Valencia have let more points slip away across Europe’s top 5 leagues this season.
Genoa’s form has been even more concerning, with just 2 points collected from their last 8 league games. A 1-0 home defeat to Fiorentina last time out left them rooted to the foot of the table after 10 rounds. The Grifone have failed to score in 5 of those 8 matches, highlighting their attacking woes.
Recent history favors Parma in this fixture. The Emilian club have won 5 of their last 6 top-flight meetings with Genoa, including a 2-0 victory in their most recent clash at the Tardini in February 2023 when both sides were in Serie B.
Parma winger Dennis Man has been their most creative outlet this season, creating 23 chances in the opening 10 rounds – second only to Inter’s Federico Dimarco. His ability to unlock Genoa’s struggling backline could be crucial to the home side’s chances of victory.
Team News
Manager Fabio Pecchia could be without midfielder Hernani, who limped off with a muscular issue against Juventus after coming on as a substitute. He may join long-term absentee Alessandro Circati on the sidelines.
Ange-Yoan Bonny is expected to lead the line up front. On the flanks, Dennis Man will likely start on one side, with Matteo Cancellieri, Valentin Mihaila and Pontus Almqvist competing for the other wing spot. Man has been in fine form at home this season, with his last 5 league goals all coming at the Tardini.
The visitors are in the midst of an injury crisis, with first-choice goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini joining a lengthy list of absentees including Koni De Winter, Junior Messias, Mattia Bani, Ruslan Malinovskyi, Vitinha and Brooke Norton-Cuffy.
Striker Caleb Ekuban is also struggling for fitness, while new signing Mario Balotelli is not yet match fit. This likely means Andrea Pinamonti will again be supported by 17-year-old Jeff Ekhator in attack. Pinamonti has an excellent record against Parma, averaging a goal involvement every 63 minutes against them in Serie A.
Expected Starting XIs
Genoa: Suzuki; Coulibaly, Del Prato, Balogh, Valeri; Keita, Sohm; Man, Bernabe, Mihaila; Bonny
Parma: Leali; Matturro, Vogliacco, Vasquez; Sabelli, Thorsby, Badelj, Frendrup, Martin; Ekhator, Pinamonti
Match Prediction
While both sides are struggling for form, Parma have shown more promise in recent weeks and should have enough quality to edge this crucial relegation battle. The home advantage and Genoa’s injury woes tip the scales in the Gialloblu’s favor.
Parma’s superior attacking threat should see them claim a narrow victory, piling more misery on Genoa and potentially leaving Alberto Gilardino’s job hanging by a thread. However, with so much at stake, a tense and closely-fought encounter can be expected at the Tardini.
Prediction: Parma 2-1 Genoa
