Genoa look to mark their return to Serie A with a win as they host Fiorentina at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris. La Viola have been active in the transfer market over the summer and fans will be keen to see how their new arrivals perform and if these Genoa vs. Fiorentina predictions come true.
Genoa vs. Fiorentina odds
1 – Fiorentina to win – 11/8
2 – Nzola to score first – 4/1
3 – Fiorentina to score over 1.5 goals – 8/13
4 – Mateo Retegui to score – 49/20
5 – Both teams to score – 6/7
Fiorentina travel to face newly promoted Genoa on Saturday evening in what is sure to be an action-packed encounter in Liguria. Vincenzo Italiano’s side impressed last season but struggled with consistency and will hope to start this campaign in a more convincing fashion.
With both sides looking to start their campaigns on a positive note, there should be no shortage of exciting football at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris with Fiorentina our tip to take all three points.
La Viola’s biggest struggle last season was with goalscoring, with none of their players managing to make it into double digits. Fans will be hoping that this has changed following the arrival of M’Bala Nzola from Spezia, with the forward bagging 13 goals last season – more than double that of Luka Jovic.
Nzola is our tip to carry his form forward from the last campaign and to open the scoring, while the arrival of a prolific forward could well be the final piece of the puzzle needed for Italiano’s progressive style of football. The first game of the season may be too early for it all to slot into place but, even so, we back the visitors to score over 1.5 goals this weekend.
That having been said, Genoa are unlikely to prove an easy opponent for Italiano’s new-look Viola side. Former Fiorentina legend Alberto Gilardino is now in charge of Il Grifone and will look to make a statement of intent for the upcoming season.
An already solid squad from last season’s promotion campaign has been reinforced over the summer, most notably with breakout Italian national team striker Mateo Retegui. The forward’s move to Italy and whether he is able to make the step up from the Argentinian league will undoubtedly be one of the stories of the season.
Retegui has no shortage of competition up front, with the likes of Kelvin Yeboah, Andrea Favilli and George Puskas. But he looks a solid bet to score anytime for Genoa on Saturday evening.
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Genoa vs. Fiorentina first five matches
Genoa first five matches
Fiorentina first five matches
Genoa vs. Fiorentina line-ups
Genoa (3-5-2): Martinez; Dragusin, Vogliacco, Vasquez; Hefti, Frendrup, Badelj, Thorsby, Martin; Retegui, Gudmondsson
Fiorentina (4-2-3-1) Terracciano; Dodo, Milenkovic, Mina, Biraghi; Mandragora, Arthur; Ikone, Bonaventura, Gonzalez; Nzola
Genoa team news
Plenty of change is expected from Alberto Gilardino’s side, with the likes of Mateo Retegui, Morten Thorsby and Koni De Winter all in line to feature. Another summer arrival, Junior Messias, will have to wait for his debut, however, due to an injury during pre-season training.
Fiorentina team news
Vincenzo Italiano is still waiting on the availability of Sofyan Amrabat ahead of Saturday’s game. The midfielder is likely to be left out of the squad as he nears a transfer out of the club with new signing Arthur expected to start in his place. The manager will also have a decision to make on whether to start Luka Jovic or new signing M’Bala Nzola.