Juventus vs Genoa: Both sides are not ready yet, but Juve is simply a higher class team

Juventus continue to chase the league leaders. Max Allegri's team defeated Salernitana away and will now host Andriy Shevchenko's Genoa. Will Juve take advantage of the chance to improve their position in the standings with a match against an outsider? Let's choose several options to bet on.

It is strange that many people expect Juve to be stable and every failure of the Turin team is perceived as a failure. As if there weren't two years of tactical wanderings, coaching changes, roster changes, and Max Allegri didn't go anywhere for two seasons, but somehow clandestinely continued to lead the team. In fact, 15 rounds is far from the time frame you can perfectly build the game within, or even restore what has been lost. Right now, the only thing Juventus needs is time. Well, a couple of quality transfers during the winter wouldn't hurt either. Although the Bianconeri have a lot of room for growth with their current roster.

The main complaint that Allegri himself has against his team is the weakness of their attacking players in terms of scoring chances. Indeed, with few exceptions, Juventus have become more and more reliable at home, but it is very difficult to find goals themselves. A striking example is the meeting with Atalanta last weekend, where the Bergamo team scored the only shot on target, while Juve did not convert their chances, although they were certainly capable of scoring a goal.

In Salerno, Juventus, as expected, managed to score without too much effort: 2-0. Dybala and Morata were the scorers. It could have been even bigger, but Chiellini's goal was cancelled out due to a millimeter offside and Paulo Dybala missed the penalty. Next, Juve has the most comfortable stretch to score as many points as possible. After Genoa, Max Allegri's team will have a very insignificant Champions League match with Malmo, and then they’ll play Venezia, Bologna and Cagliari. If the Bianconeri manage to win all 4 games, the match against Napoli on January 6 could again become an encounter of direct rivals for the Scudetto. Juve's handicap from Serie A leader Napoli is now just 12 points.

In general, it is clear why the new American owners of Genoa appointed Andriy Shevchenko as head coach. Shevchenko is not only a talented and well-established coach at the helm of the Ukrainian national team, but also a very profitable brand for soccer in Italy. No matter how much more experienced and classy of a specialist the fired Davide Ballardini is, with Shevchenko as a coach, the Griffin will achieve much more. Now the main thing is not to fly out in to Serie B.

Genoa has yet to score under Shevchenko: three matches saw zero goals. The Griffins lost at home to Roma (0-2) and AC Milan (0-3) and also had a 0-0 draw with Udinese on the road. The team's results are going to be like that for a while – Genoa simply lacks players. If the Genoese are so dependent on Mattia Destro as if he were LeBron James, then it really is time to actively work on the transfer market. Genoa are sure to be one of the most active buyers during the winter transfer window.

Juventus has seen 7 wins and 1 draw in the last 8 encounters with Genoa in Serie A.

Genoa has big problems in the attack. Once Mattia Destro dropped out due to injury, the team almost stopped scoring. Juventus aren't performing at their best in the opponent's half either. They are not so bad in terms of creating, but the Bianconeri's implementation fails badly. According to xG stats, the Bianconeri have under-scored more than six goals in 15 games. In general, the upcoming game is unlikely to be high-scoring. In addition, Juventus is likely to win. Genoa looks weak not only in attack but also in defense. The Griffin keeps waiting for winter transfers as well as for the key players to recover, not only Destro but also the captain Domenico Criscito – another factor affecting Genoa.

Prediction: Juventus will win in a low-scoring match.

• Juventus To Win + Total Under (3.5) for 2.03;
• Juventus To Win + Total Under (2.5) for 3.25;
• Correct Score 2-0 for 5.60.