Genoa vs Fiorentina Prediction: Will the Genoese be able to cope with such a difficult test?

Genoa has returned to Serie A in one year, but the first round in the elite does not promise the Griffins nothing good, because the opponents are Fiorentina, who reached the final of the Conference League last season. Will the Genoese be able to cope with such a difficult test?

During last season, German Alexander Blessin was replaced as head coach of Genoa by Alberto Gilardino, a well-known former striker who recently finished his playing career. The bet on the young specialist worked. Genoa finished second in Serie B and went directly to Serie A.

In the first game of the new season, Genoa hosted Modena. The match was fun and ended with a score of 4:3. Vazquez, Gudmundson, and Italy's main forward, Retegui, scored for Genoa.

Next Thursday, the Violets will start in the new draw of the Conference League with an away match against Vienna's Rapid. Last season, the European Cup was a priority for Vincenzo Italiano's team, and they reached the final of the LC, losing there to English West Ham. Although in the national championship, Fiorentina performed well, taking eighth place. And they also reached the Cup final, where they lost to Inter.

Among the summer transfers of Fiorentina, the sale of defender Igor to Brighton and his replacement by Yerry Mina from Everton is worth noting. Also, Artur Cabral went to Benfica for a large sum, while two strikers were acquired at once - Beltran from River Plate and M'Bala Nzola from Spezia. Alexander Kokorin, the best player of the Cypriot championship last season, returned from loan; they managed to score a couple of times in friendly matches and got into Fiorentina's application form for the season under number 91.

Fiorentina has excellent statistics of matches with Genoa, and now the Violets are once again the clear favorite in this pairing. Vincenzo Italiano's team is one of the strongest in Italy, reaching two finals last season and finishing in the top 8 in the league. There is a good chance that the team will continue to develop this season and face the biggest challenges again. Fiorentina will start from the first round and take away points from Genoa, maybe even all three. It's unlikely to be a blowout, though - Genoa is excellent on home soil, having lost only one home Serie B match out of 19 last season and conceding only ten goals.