Cremonese vs Genoa – News and Probable Lineups

With both teams tied on points in their battle for survival in Serie A, Cremonese will host Genoa at Stadio Zini this Sunday afternoon.

While Cremonese has seen a dramatic drop in their league position, their opponents were gradually moving toward safety until they recently encountered two contentious losses.

Match overview

Cremonese’s struggle is evident as they have gone ten games without a victory, desperately trying to maintain their top-flight status following their promotion from Serie B last season.

Since their last win, Cremonese has accumulated the lowest points total (three) and has only scored three goals in Serie A, failing to register at all in eight matches.

Their last goal was tallied by Morten Thorsby during stoppage time in a recent loss to Atalanta, marking a concerning trend for Davide Nicola’s struggling side as they sink deeper into trouble.

Initially, Cremonese started their return to the Serie A campaign strongly, thanks in part to contributions from Federico Bonazzoli and Jamie Vardy; yet, they now find themselves precariously close to the relegation zone.

This situation puts pressure on survival expert Nicola—who has a history with Genoa, both as a player and coach—to rectify the team’s fortunes soon.

Compounding their issues is a lack of scoring, especially at home, where the Grigiorossi have recorded just one victory in their last ten matches at Stadio Zini, even going 241 minutes without finding the back of the net in front of their supporters.

As they prepare to face top-four contenders AC Milan and Roma in the upcoming weeks, they must capitalize on the vulnerabilities in Genoa’s defense.

In their previous encounter in October, Genoa suffered a 2-0 defeat where Bonazzoli scored twice at Stadio Ferraris. Their last Serie A triumph against Cremonese was way back in January 1994.

Similar to their counterparts, the Grifone is hovering just above the relegation zone after positive momentum was halted by two costly consecutive losses.

Remarkably, Genoa’s last three fixtures have all concluded with a 3-2 scoreline: following a dramatic win over Bologna, they fell to a late penalty against Lazio at Stadio Olimpico, and then faced another narrow defeat in their latest match.

Their strong performance against Napoli was turned sour as they conceded another penalty in stoppage time, awarded controversially to the reigning champions.

Only their fellow relegation battlers Fiorentina have lost more points than the 20 dropped by Genoa this season, marking the worst record for the Rossoblu at this stage of any top-flight season since 2013.

Despite these difficulties, since Daniele De Rossi took the helm in November, his squad has gathered 17 points from 14 games, with only Inter de Milão, Juventus, and Como having netted more goals.

Team News

Cremonese will be able to bring back influential midfielder Jari Vandeputte, who has been recovering from a muscle strain, although Nicola must still cope without the injured Michele Collocolo and Warren Bondo.

Mikayil Faye and Matteo Bianchetti are considered minor doubts, but recent loan addition Thorsby is expected to play against his parent club.

Bonazzoli, set to partner Vardy in attack, has scored four times in his career against Genoa, including his double in their last meeting, but has not found the net in several weeks.

Conversely, Genoa’s midfielder Ruslan Malinoxyi has netted in three consecutive outings, while Lorenzo Colombo’s goal against Napoli marked his sixth this season, matching his personal best.

The only player sidelined due to injury is back-up goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist, while Roma loanee Tommaso Baldanzi may finally be fit enough for a spot on the bench.

Cremonese probable starting XI:

Audero; Terracciano, Baschirotto, Luperto; Barbieri, Thorsby, Payero, Maleh, Pezzella; Bonazzoli, Vardy

Genoa probable starting XI:

Bijlow; Marcandalli, Ostigard, Vasquez; Norton-Cuffy, Frendrup, Malinoxyi, Ellertsson, Martin; Vitinha, Colombo

Given Genoa’s recent scoring record under De Rossi, combined with Cremonese’s goal drought, the away side could secure three crucial points on their return to Liguria.

If circumstances unfold unfavorably, another loss could plunge Cremo deeper into peril, putting Nicola’s position at risk.