Sassuolo – Genoa

Should we expect a shootout from the teams?

The match against Cremonese became Patrick Vieira's last at the helm of Genoa. A mere three points from the start of the season and the fourth defeat in the last five rounds led to the inevitable result – the Frenchman’s resignation. The meeting with the "grigiorossi" did not start well. Already in the 3rd minute, Bonazzoli put his team ahead. Davide Nicola's charges acted wisely on the field and did not allow the "griffons" to equalise in the first half. Moreover, Bonazzoli scored a brace at the beginning of the second half. Federico's two goals earned Cremonese the deserved three points. The round before, the Genoese lost to Torino away with a score of 2:1. Earlier there was a "dry" draw with Parma. Sassuolo is showing decent results. In the last five rounds, the "neroverdi" have achieved three victories and lost only once. Last Thursday, Fabio Grosso's team faced Cagliari. The goalless first half turned into a riveting second. By the 65th minute, the "neroverdi" had scored twice. The team held onto a comfortable lead for not long. Thus, in the 73rd minute, Sebastiano Esposito pulled one back. The "islanders," however, could not do any more damage. The round before, Sassuolo lost narrowly to Roma. It is worth taking a look at the results of the direct encounters between the opponents. The teams exchanged goals in nine out of their last ten games. Moreover, the goal exchange streak has lasted for six matches. The Genoese have scored in every away match this season, facing Como, Bologna, Napoli, and Torino. It is no wonder that the team also conceded in each of these matches. Genoa has a significant underperformance in terms of xG metrics. According to this statistic, the team should have scored 8.21 goals more than it has. Interestingly, although the Genoese conceded 13 goals, they still have an underperformance in xGA. Sassuolo has a similar underperformance as well. According to this metric, the "neroverdi" should have conceded 4.84 goals more. In four matches at the "Città del Tricolore," it should be noted that Fabio Grosso's team did not concede only once. Often, teams undergoing managerial changes show completely different results. The history of direct encounters and statistics suggest that a goal exchange can indeed be expected in this game.