Genoa will face Napoli at the Stadio Ferraris in the fourth round of Serie A on Saturday, with eight places separating the two sides in the league table. Alberto Ghirardino's side have gained just three of the nine points available to them, while Rudi Garcia's side lost their 100 percent win record against Lazio in the pre-international matchday fixture.
Genoa have had a tough start to the 2023-24 Serie A season, losing two of their first three games, and now they must find a way to take on last season's defending champions. Ghiraldino's side suffered a stunning 1-0 defeat to Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico in the second round of the competition, but a 1-4 drubbing against Fiorentina and a 1-0 loss in Turin slightly reduced the excitement of beating Maurizio Sarri's side. The newly-promoted league side take on the league champions in the fourth round of fixtures and will be hoping for a huge win on Saturday. A stunning win over Napoli would be the most shocking result of the league season so far, as Giraldino's side are looking for their first home win since returning to the first tier. The Rossoblu lost just one home game last season, conceding 10 times in 19 games, a statistic they are unlikely to reach or surpass again this season.
As for Napoli, Garcia's side returned to reality after opening the season with two straight wins before being beaten by Lazio before International Day. Despite not playing aggressively in the opening stages of the game, and even being passive throughout the first half, Lazio defeated Napoli 2-1 at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. There were a couple of times when Napoli formed promising attacking situations, but on a night like this, both Kvaratskelija and Victor Osimhen failed to succeed.
Even though his second season at Napoli was slowed down by injury, Kvaratskelia's form at the end of last season did not inspire confidence - the Georgian had not scored in the league since a game against Torino in March. Garcia's side travel to Genoa hoping they can once again beat a newly-promoted Serie A side who have already beaten Frosinone. With the derby between Inter and Milan coming up earlier on Saturday, Napoli have a chance to close the gap on them by winning the late game.
It is not expected that Alexandre Voliaco and Alain Maturo will return to the Genoa squad until the end of September. Matteo Retgui scored the winning goal for the Rossoblu against Lazio and the striker should lead the attack for the home side on Saturday.
As for Napoli, Osimhen failed to score in the third round of the competition, leaving him behind Lautaro - (5) and Olivier Giroud (4) in the top scorers' table - and the Super Eagle, who scored three goals in the tournament on Sunday, should play an important role in the Azzurri's team.
Possible starting XI: Genoa: Martinez; Sabelli, Barney, Dragussin, Vazquez; Strootman, Badri, Frundrup; Malinowski, Gudmundsson; Retgui. Napoli: Meret; Di Lorenzo, Lamani, Jesus, Oliveira; Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielielski; Raspadoli, Osimen, Kvaratskelija.
SCORE PREDICTION: Genoa 1-3 Napoli, Osimhen could score again as Napoli look to get back on the winning track after losing to Lazio, with Genoa's first home win since returning to the league still to come.
