March 8, 2013 2:45 PM EST
Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris — Genova
Referee: A. Damato
Attendance: 36700
Serie A Preview: Genoa-Milan
This is a fixture laced with tragedy and tensions are always high whenever these sides clash, but both also have plenty to play for heading into Friday's match.
By Jerrad Peters
| PROBABLE LINEUPS |
|
GENOA
 Frey Bovo, Portanova, Morretti Pisano, Kucka, Tozser, Vargas, Antonelli Bertolacci Borriello |
AC MILAN
 Abbiati Abate, Zapata, Mexes, Constant Flamini, Ambrosini, Montolivo Boateng, Balotelli, El Shaarawy |
Four years ago AC Milan supporters wouldn’t have been allowed to travel to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris. In 1995, a Genoa fan was stabbed to death by Milan ultras outside this stadium, and it was only in 2010 that the ban on away fans was lifted.
Both sets of ultras would do well to keep their team’s targets in mind when this match kicks off on Friday. AC Milan is just five points behind Napoli ahead of the 28th round of fixtures and Genoa is fighting to stay above the relegation zone.
Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri has as close to a full squad as he could hope to have this late in the season, with only defender Didac Vila and midfielder Nigel de Jong out injured.
Philippe Mexes returns from suspension and will start in the center of defense for the Rossoneri, who will no doubt have one eye on next week’s Champions League match away to Barcelona.
Genoa, which lost 3-1 to Roma the last time out, will be missing striker Antonio Floro Flores, who has a muscle problem, and midfielders Marco Rossi and Ruben Olivera will both miss out due to calf strains.
Enis Nadarevic is injured as well, and while Brazilian midfielder Matuzalem returns from suspension he has been experiencing muscle problems and could miss out. Midfielder Juraj Kucka is suspended.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
- AC Milan has posted the best record in Serie A since the last time it faced Genoa - an Oct. 27 match that ended 1-0 in favor of the Rossoneri.
- Milan has not loss in Serie A this calendar year, and its only defeat in 2013 in all competitions came against Juventus in the Coppa Italia.
- Giampaolo Pazzini’s brace in Milan’s 3-0 win over Lazio last weekend took him to 12 Serie A goals on the season. He and Stephan El Shaarawy have combined for 26 tallies so far this season. The next-highest goalscorer for the Rossoneri is Mario Balotelli, with four.
- Genoa has won just three times in Serie A since the end of November - a stretch of 13 matches that now has it fourth-from-bottom in the division.
- Striker Marco Borriello, who represented Milan between 2008 and 2010, is Genoa’s highest scorer this season with eight goals.
- Genoa last beat Milan in 2010 and have since taken just one of a possible 15 points from the Rossoneri.
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
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Genoa 0-2 Milan
- 30.14 %
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Genoa 0-3 Milan
- 18.74 %
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Genoa 1-3 Milan
- 11.85 %
| Serie A (ITA1) | Mar 8, 2013 | Genoa 0 - Milan 2 |
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| Serie A (ITA1) | Oct 27, 2012 | Milan 1 - Genoa 0 |
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| Serie A (ITA1) | Apr 25, 2012 | Milan 1 - Genoa 0 |
|
| Serie A (ITA1) | Dec 2, 2011 | Genoa 0 - Milan 2 |
|
| Serie A (ITA1) | Feb 6, 2011 | Genoa 1 - Milan 1 |
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Genoa
    |
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| May 19, 2013 | Bologna 0 - Genoa 0 | ITA1 |
| May 12, 2013 | Genoa 0 - Inter 0 | ITA1 |
| May 8, 2013 | Torino 0 - Genoa 0 | ITA1 |
| May 5, 2013 | Genoa 4 - Pescara 1 | ITA1 |
| Apr 28, 2013 | Chievo 0 - Genoa 1 | ITA1 |
Milan
|
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| May 19, 2013 | Siena 1 - Milan 2 | ITA1 |
| May 12, 2013 | Milan 0 - AS Roma 0 | ITA1 |
| May 8, 2013 | Pescara 0 - Milan 4 | ITA1 |
| May 5, 2013 | Milan 1 - Torino 0 | ITA1 |
| Apr 28, 2013 | Milan 4 - Catania 2 | ITA1 |
| 1 | Sebastien Frey | Goalkeeper |
| 3 | Cesare Bovo | Defender |
| 5 | Andreas Granqvist | Defender |
| 13 | Luca Antonelli | Defender |
| 24 | Emiliano Moretti | Defender |
| 16 | Mattia Cassani | Defender |
| - | Daniele Portanova | Defender |
| 8 | J. Vargas | Defender |
| 91 | Andrea Bertolacci | Midfielder |
| 28 | Daniel Tozser | Midfielder |
| 22 | Marco Borriello | Striker |
| 30 | Alexandros Tzorvas | Goalkeeper |
| 32 | Antonio Donnarumma | Goalkeeper |
| 4 | Damiano Ferronetti | Defender |
| 31 | Eros Pisano | Defender |
| - | Marco Rigoni | Midfielder |
| 19 | C. Jorquera | Midfielder |
| 11 | Bosko Jankovic | Striker |
| 17 | Ciro Immobile | Striker |
| 32 | Christian Abbiati | Goalkeeper |
| 2 | Mattia De Sciglio | Defender |
| 5 | Philippe Mexes | Defender |
| 17 | Cristian Zapata | Defender |
| 4 | Sulley Ali Muntari | Midfielder |
| 16 | Mathieu Flamini | Midfielder |
| 18 | Riccardo Montolivo | Midfielder |
| 21 | Kevin Constant | Midfielder |
| 11 | Giampaolo Pazzini | Striker |
| 9 | L. Niang | Goalkeeper |
| 92 | Stephan El Shaarawy | Midfielder |
| 1 | Marco Amelia | Goalkeeper |
| 59 | Gabriel | Goalkeeper |
| 20 | Ignazio Abate | Defender |
| 76 | Mario Alberto Yepes | Defender |
| 2 | Cristian Zaccardo | Defender |
| 8 | Antonio Nocerino | Midfielder |
| 12 | Bakaye Traoré | Midfielder |
| 10 | Kevin-Prince Boateng | Midfielder |
| 23 | Massimo Ambrosini | Midfielder |
| 7 | Robinho | Striker |
| 22 | Bojan Krkic | Striker |
| 45 | Mario Balotelli | Striker |
| Luca Antonelli | |
| Position: | Defender |
| Squad Number: | 13 |
| Games | Goals | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| Mario Balotelli | |
| Position: | Striker |
| Squad Number: | 45 |
| Games | Goals | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 12 | 6 | 0 |
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Edinson Cavani Striker Napoli |
29 | 7 |
|
Antonio Di Natale Striker Udinese |
23 | 4 |
|
Pablo Daniel Osvaldo Striker Roma |
16 | 2 |
|
Stephan El Shaarawy Midfielder Milan |
16 | 0 |
|
Germán Denis Striker Atalanta |
15 | 5 |
