Fiorentina will be back on the road for a win against 19th-placed Genoa in a Halloween night match. The match continues Thursday October 31, 2024bee 5:30 PM GMT/1:30 PM EST at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa. The weather forecast predicts a surprisingly warm night, at least for Liguria, but that doesn’t matter to the traveling fans; following clashes with Lecce supporters, the league office has banned ticket sales to anyone whose address is registered in Tuscany, so don’t expect any support for the visitors in the arena.

Three things to pay attention to

1. Mario damn Balotelli. Genoa were always going to be at the top after losing Mateo Retegui and Albert Guðmundsson over the summer. €16m Vitinha has yet to score and is currently injured, leaving Andrea Pinamonti in the lead. The former Sassuolo striker has scored three goals and is fine, but has had no support; Poor Alberto Gilardino trotted out against Lazio last time out with a full-back on each wing in an attempt to get something from his attackers. Even a change in formation didn’t help.

What’s a failed relegation straggler to do? Well, if you’re Ian Ratner and Ronald Glass, you bring in a 34-year-old Mario Balotelli, whose last action in a professional match last May was sent off in the 39th minute for Adana Demirspor. While wearing the bracelet. Even at his age he probably has the talent to score a few goals, but this is more than a struggling outfit and a roll of the dice. This is the Balotelli circus. The media is going to ooh and aah (look at me, I’m doing it here) and the storytelling gods have already decreed that he comes off the bench in his first game and scores a stunner.

2. How many goals Fiorentina scores. Despite the Ballotelli frenzy, the focus should be on Fiorentina’s attackers, who have been fantastic over the past month. The Viola have scored an average of five goals per match over the past three games on their way to the best goal difference in Serie A, which is astonishing for a club that could not put a single goal past last-place Venezia. This attack is possibly the hottest attack in Italy right now, and it doesn’t look like this will change against the Grifone.

Genoa’s defense was the exact opposite, with 20 goals (only Hellas Verona’s 22 are more) and looking even worse. They don’t press much and spend a lot of time deep (the highest number of touches in their own penalty area after Empoli), which puts them under constant pressure. They are missing top defender Koni de Winter and none of his replacements have impressed. Gilardino’s tried fielding extra defenders (wingers as wingers, a midfield destroyer as the 10) and nothing worked; it’s not so much the staff as the system, and it’s hard to see anything really helpful at this point.

Photo by Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The real question, of course, lies in the Viola camp. A number of key strikers had short days after knocking out AS Roma, but Raffaele Palladino may want to rest his legs as the side begin the long slog of fortnightly fixtures. The scintillating form of Riccardo Sottil and Jonathan Ikoné may allow him to do just that, but he would undoubtedly be happier if Moise Kean in particular could give him at least 45 minutes to be safe. Christian Kouamé may be able to wake up from his bewilderment towards his former employer, but that could take optimism a step too far.

3. As always, the central defenders. Pietro Comuzzo’s ankle injury is not serious, but he will miss this one, and that is worrying. The 19-year-old has been the team’s best defender and the other options have been uninspiring. Marin Pongračić and Matías Moreno are nursing injuries (that’s why the latter left at half-time against St. Gallen), so Palladino has to choose Luca Ranieri and Lucas Martínez Quarta quite well.

That should be an adequate combination, but their hiccups at the start of the year are cause for concern. Moreover, Pinamonti has the pace and cunning to cause problems for this duo. LMQ is who he is at this point, so there’s already some chaos baked in, but Ranieri may be extra tired and has a history of cramping late in games that’s worth keeping an eye on. We could be looking at the usual hapless antics at the back and perhaps even a cameo for Primavera defender Leonardo Baroncelli, who is likely to be the emergency call-up.

Possible setups

Created using Share My Tactics

Ted’s Memorial Blind Guess Chapter

Fiorentina are on an absurd run, in 4th place and with higher ambitions, so would always be favored here, even without Genoa’s injury crisis, miserable form (winless in 8) and general malaise. Add to that the fact that the Viola haven’t lost this match since 2019, outscoring their opponents 13-3 in four meetings in recent years, and there’s no way to sweeten it: the visitors are pretty big favorites.

That said, this feels like the moment where things get creepy. This is exactly the kind of play that can deceive a young team that gets carried away by its own success. I won’t be surprised at all if the boys allow an undead outfit like Genoa a brief return to life through Pinamonti who comes on early in the break, but after a bit of a scare, attacks from Gosens and Sottil in the second half should see to that . ends up being a treat.

Forza viola!