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

One place apart in the Serie A standings, both Parma and Genoa will continue their fight for top-flight survival when they meet at Stadio Tardini on Sunday.

Having achieved positive results earlier this week, the two sides have a chance to pull further clear of danger.

Match preview

After making a slow start to life under rookie coach Carlos Cuesta, who was surprisingly appointed last summer, Parma have recently found some form and are beginning to inch away from Serie A's bottom three.

A tally of 11 points from seven games has helped Cuesta's side move up to 14th place, leaving them eight points above the drop zone.

Taking something from their midweek trip to Naples was a big bonus, as the Gialloblu held reigning champions Napoli to a gritty goalless draw on Wednesday evening.

Partly thanks to an inspired top-flight debut for young goalkeeper Filippo Rinaldi, they managed to keep a rare clean sheet while continuing a good run of results on the road. 

However, back at base in Emilia-Romagna, Parma have only posted two wins from 10 league games this season, plus a couple in the early rounds of the Coppa Italia.

Following a 0-0 draw in October's reverse fixture, victory this weekend would take them six points clear of Genoa and even closer to mid-table comfort.

© Imago

Unbeaten in three league meetings - all without conceding a goal - Genoa will have the upper hand in terms of recent history ahead of Sunday's early kickoff.

Like their hosts, the Grifone have made a promising start to 2026, drawing with Pisa and AC Milan before welcoming fellow strugglers Cagliari to Marassi on Monday evening.

Making up for their near-miss against Milan - when Nicolae Stanciu blazed over a potentially match-winning penalty in the closing stages - Daniele De Rossi's side seized an early lead and never looked back.

Lorenzo Colombo prolonged his purple patch by scoring after seven minutes, setting his team on the road to an impressive 3-0 home victory.

Even so, Genoa are still situated just above the drop zone and cannot afford to be complacent - particularly with 18th-placed Fiorentina gaining ground.

Before meeting two clubs with European dreams - Bologna and Lazio - the Rossoblu will now face another relegation rival, seeking just their third away win of the season.

Parma Serie A form:

L W D L W D

Genoa Serie A form:

L L L D D W

Team News

© Imago / Gribaudi

Parma's reserve goalkeepers Rinaldi and Edoardo Corvi will again vie for selection, with Vicente Guaita and Zion Suzuki still unavailable.

Cuesta is also missing Pontus Almqvist, Abdoulaye Ndiaye, Mathias Lovik and long-term absentee Matija Frigan through injury.

After being benched on Wednesday, six-goal top scorer Mateo Pellegrino will hope to regain his place up front, supplanting Patrick Cutrone.

Meanwhile, Colombo should lead Genoa's attack, having recently taken his tally to five league goals for the season; box-crashing centre-back Leo Ostigard moved onto four last time out.

Albert Gronbaek and Benjamin Siegrist are still injured, while Maxwel Cornet and Caleb Ekuban may also miss out due to muscular problems.

Parma possible starting lineup:

Rinaldi; Delprato, Circati, Valenti, Valeri; Bernabe, Keita, Sorensen; Oristanio, Ondrejka; Pellegrino

Genoa possible starting lineup:

Leali; Marcandalli, Ostigard, Vazquez; Norton-Cuffy, Malinovskyi, Frendrup, Thorsby, Martin; Vitinha, Colombo

We say: Parma 2-2 Genoa 

These clubs could play out their second draw of the season, as there is very little to choose between them.

Keeping their points tallies ticking upwards, that would not be a bad result for either side in their respective quests to avoid relegation.

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