Three games take place in Serie A on Saturday afternoon, part of an excellent weekend of competition from Italy. The final game to kick off is this one, with Genoa the hosts, a team far enough away from the relegation zone to be worrying, while the team they host, Udinese, are looking over their shoulder behind, despite being in 14th position.
Genoa Form GuideBeginning the weekend in 12th place with 30 points, it's been a really solid season so far for Genoa. 10 clear of the relegation zone, I don't think they need to look behind them too much, with 13 games to go, they should be fine. But they have failed to win any of their last three, although I do think they have valid reasons for that small blip.
That blip has been three without a win. Last weekend was a 1-1 draw away at Napoli, a good point, before that a loss at home to Atalanta, a side currently going very well in the league, and the first game, a 0-0 draw with Empoli, though a game when Genoa played well, but just couldn't score.
Udinese Form GuideI still find it incredible to sit here and type that Udinese are 14th in the league, and they've only won three games all season. Frosinone, below them, have won six, it's crazy. But 14 draws, 14 points, it may not be pretty, and may not be the done thing, but it's keeping Udinese safe for now.
They have won recently though, and are unbeaten in their last three games, with a win and two draws in that period. The success was a surprising 1-0 away win against second placed Juventus, with draws 0-0 at home to Monza and 1-1 at home to Cagliari either side of those big three points.
Match PredictionI respect Udinese, but think Genoa have been going along better than their recent form suggests, and this is the day they get back to winning ways. I am taking Genoa to win the final game on Saturday night in Serie A.