After stumbling against Lazio last time out, Napoli will be looking to get their Serie A title defence back on track as they travel to Genoa on Saturday. It has been a rough start to the season for Genoa, who are expected to struggle against the champions.
Genoa head into Saturday’s clash off the back of a 1-0 defeat at Torino in their previous Serie A fixture. They were second best for much of the encounter and created little in attack, finishing with just two attempts on target.
It has been a difficult start to the season for Genoa, who have won one and lost two of their opening three matches. Alberto Gilardino's men are currently in the bottom half of the table and will be seeking a result to jumpstart their campaign.
Genoa’s form this season is eerily similar to their showings during the 2021-22 series A campaign when they got relegated. They have now lost four of their last five Serie matches with a 3-0 defeat to Napoli among the results in that run.
Napoli are now playing catch-up to the Milan clubs after suffering a 2-1 home defeat to Lazio last time out in Serie A. They came from behind to level through Piotr Zielinski but conceded the winner seven minutes after the restart.
While it was undoubtedly a setback, manager Rudi Garcia is likely to consider it more of a minor blip in their title defence. Napoli did begin their campaign with wins over Frosinone and Sassuolo and will be confident of getting things back on track on Saturday.
Napoli have a solid record on their recent travels, suffering just one defeat in their last 12 away matches in Serie A. They have claimed nine wins in that run, including a 3-1 victory at Frosinone on the opening weekend.
How the bookies view it
Napoli are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a win priced at 4/6 by Coral. Genoa are considered outsiders at home at 9/2 with bet365 while a draw is set at odds of 3/1 by William Hill.
Head to head
Napoli have a 22-10 advantage with 16 draws from 48 previous matches against Genoa. The Neapolitans did the double during the 2021-22 season, claiming a 2-1 win at the Luigi Ferraris before picking up a 3-0 victory in Naples.
Players to watch
Victor Osimhen had a quiet outing against Lazio but already has three goals this season and could be the one to watch for Napoli. The Nigerian striker was on target in the last meeting with Genoa and is priced at 10/11 with bet365.
Having kept a clean sheet in the last meeting with Genoa, Napoli will be targeting a similar outcome on Saturday. Amir Rrahmani continues to impress at the heart of the defence and can lead the visitors to another clean sheet at 29/20 with Coral.
Anything else catch the eye?
Napoli earned a win to nil in the last meeting with Genoa and could be set for a similar outcome at 2/1 with BetVictor. With that fixture ending 3-0, the visitors canalso be backed in the -1 handicap market at 9/5 with BetVictor.
The Neapolitans have scored in both halves in four of their last five meetings with Genoa and Saturday’s clash could be set for a similar pattern at 8/5 with BoyleSports.
This Serie A match between Genoa and Napoli will be played on Sep 16, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Genoa vs Napoli prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
