Preview: Juventus vs Genoa - prediction, team news, lineups

Trailing behind in Serie A's tight top-four race, fallen giants Juventus will welcome Genoa to Turin on Monday evening.

The Bianconeri dropped more points just before the break, leaving them in real danger of missing out on Champions League qualification; meanwhile, their visitors are not yet safe from the drop.

Match preview

Before international football intervened, Juventus were on track for a vital victory at home to Sassuolo, as they sought to keep pace with Como and Roma in the race for fourth place.

Even after Kenan Yildiz saw his opener cancelled out early in the second half, the Bianconeri were awarded a late penalty and seemed set to wrap up maximum points.

However, captain Manuel Locatelli then seized the ball from Yildiz and saw his tame attempt easily saved, allowing Como to pull three points clear and leaving Juve level with Roma.

In addition to limply exiting Europe and the Coppa Italia, Luciano Spalletti's side have only won two of their last seven league matches, which places them 13th in the form table over that period.

Overall, Juventus have lost six of 30 Serie A matches so far, and only once in the last 15 years have they suffered more league defeats at this stage of a campaign.

History will still be on their side against Genoa, though, as Juve have been beaten just twice by their Ligurian counterparts across 57 top-flight contests in Turin, winning 44.

Not only does their last home loss in this fixture date back to 1991, but the Bianconeri have also kept clean sheets in all of the last four Serie A meetings, taking 10 points from a possible 12.

When the sides last met, Genoa were beaten 1-0 back at Stadio Ferraris, but much has changed since that clash in late August.

Spalletti was subsequently installed in the Juventus dugout, while Daniele De Rossi now manages the Grifone, who have gradually recovered from a terrible start.

Since De Rossi's autumn arrival, Genoa average a healthy 1.35 points per game, while goals have begun to flow freely.

However, they fired a rare blank just before the break, losing 2-0 to Udinese after being sucker-punched in a game they largely dominated.

As a result, the Rossoblu remain only six points above the relegation zone, so De Rossi's initial assignment is not yet complete.

With just three wins from 14 attempts, Genoa generally struggle on the road, and precedent will be stacked high against them when they travel to Turin.

Juventus Serie A form:

L L D W W D

Juventus form (all competitions):

L W D W W D

Genoa Serie A form:

D W L W W L

Team News

Juventus should have a full squad to choose from, as forward pair Dusan Vlahovic and Arkadiusz Milik both returned to the fold at the end of March.

After spending several months on the sidelines, Vlahovic is now fit enough to feature up front, but Yildiz could continue as a false nine with support from Jeremie Boga.

Mattia Perin seems to have supplanted Michele Di Gregorio as Juve's first-choice goalkeeper, while winter signing Justin Bijlow quickly established himself as Genoa's number one.

The latter will start behind Norwegian centre-back Leo Ostigard, who has notched five Serie A goals this season - only one fewer than the Grifone's top scorer Lorenzo Colombo.

Both Brooke Norton-Cuffy and Maxwel Cornet are struggling with muscular injuries, so it remains to be seen if either can make the squad for Monday's game.

Juventus possible starting lineup:

Perin; Kalulu, Bremer, Kelly, Cambiaso; Thuram, Locatelli; Conceicao, McKennie, Boga; Yildiz

Genoa possible starting lineup:

Bijlow; Marcandalli, Ostigard, Vasquez; Ellertsson, Frendrup, Malinovskyi, Martin; Messias, Vitinha; Colombo

We say: Juventus 2-1 Genoa

Although they slipped up against Sassuolo, most of Juve's losses this season have been sustained on the road - and they have an excellent home record against Genoa.

Faced with an attack-minded away side, Spalletti should edge the tactical battle and become just the fourth coach to reach 300 Serie A wins.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.