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Wednesday September 23, 2009

Juve wary of Genoa

ROME: Genoa host Juventus in a midweek match that could go some way to establishing the relative merits of each side’s title credentials.

Juventus lie second in the Serie A table, just goals scored behind surprise leaders Sampdoria.

Samp’s city rivals Genoa had been the previous pace-setters until the weekend when a 3-1 reverse at Chievo halted their own 100% run.

Genoa did have the excuse, though, that they had played a tough Europa League match on Thursday and their troops looked a little battle weary.

Buffon: Genoa are a very good side, particulary when they play at home because they play in a fantastic stadium and the athmosphere generated could provide an extra problem for us.’ — AP

But if they hope to keep pace with the front-runners in Serie A this season and progress in the Europa League at the same time, they are going to have to get used to playing twice a week and recovering quickly.

This match presents Genoa with the opportunity to demonstrate whether or not that Chievo defeat was just a blip and that they really can mix it with the best, or whether their early season form was merely a false dawn.

For Juventus, who still hold a 100% record, this game will show whether or not they have the capacity to go to tough away grounds and come away with the kind of results that turn pretenders into title challengers.

And goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, the star of their 2-0 defeat of Livorno on Saturday, is adamant the team must avoid the kind of fate that awaited them last season in a 3-2 defeat.

“I don’t want to concede three goals again,” joked Italy’s number one. “Genoa are a very good side, particularly when they play at home because they play in a fantastic stadium and the atmosphere generated could provide an extra problem for us.”

While that may be the game of the week, in Florence Sampdoria will come up against their biggest test so far this season.

Coach Luigi Del Neri claimed following Sunday’s 4-1 thrashing of Siena that he would not set limits on his team’s capabilities, particularly with the errant Antonio Cassano in the team.

Fiorentina are coming into the match off the back of a poor 3-1 defeat at AS Roma and the team who finished fourth in each of the previous two seasons needs to win to keep their push for a top four finish on track. — AFP

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