Juventus will be bidding to make it three Serie A victories in a row when they travel to relegation-threatened Genoa on Friday night.

The Old Lady are currently fourth in the table, eight points behind leaders AC Milan, while Genoa are 19th, three points behind 17th-placed Cagliari heading into the next set of fixtures.

Match preview

Genoa have been present in Italy's top flight since 2007, but their existence at this level of football is being threatened, as a total of 25 points from 35 matches has left them down in 19th position in the table.

Alexander Blessin's side managed to record an important 1-0 victory over Cagliari on April 24 but could not make it back-to-back successes, going down 1-0 at Sampdoria last time out, which has left them three points behind 17th-placed Cagliari on the same number of games.

Two wins from their final three matches might well prove enough to stay in the division, but they have two extremely tough games against Juventus and Napoli before ending their season at home to Bologna.

Genoa have only won three league games this term, which is comfortably the worst record in the division, and they have been beaten in four of their last five games at this level, with the disappointing run following a spell where they actually went unbeaten across eight matches to give themselves a fighting chance.

The Red and Blues have lost each of their last six league games with Juventus, meanwhile, including a 2-0 defeat in the reverse match earlier this season.

Juventus, meanwhile, have won each of their last three matches in all competitions, booking their spot in the Coppa Italia final with a 2-0 success over Fiorentina before recording back-to-back league successes over Sassuolo and Venezia to make sure of a top-four finish in Serie A.

The Old Lady are mathematically still in the title race, but they sit eight points behind leaders AC Milan with three games left, so it is incredibly difficult to imagine them finishing at the summit, especially as second-placed Inter Milan are also six points above them on the same number of games.

Juventus are only a point behind third-placed Napoli, meanwhile, and will certainly have the Naples outfit in their sights ahead of their final three league games of the season against Genoa, Lazio and Fiorentina.

Massimiliano Allegri's side can win some silverware this season in the shape of the Coppa Italia, preparing to take on Italian champions Inter Milan in the final on May 11, and a positive end to what has been a difficult campaign would leave the supporters confident ahead of next term.

Juventus only have the fifth-best away record in Serie A this season, but they will be taking on a Genoa outfit that have the third-worst home record, having collected just 14 points from 17 matches.

Team News

Genoa are expected to be without Zinho Vanheusden, Nicolo Rovella, Andrea Cambiaso, Lennart Czyborra, Nikola Maksimovic and Roberto Piccoli through injury on Friday.

Stefano Sturaro should overcome the issue that forced him off against Sampdoria, though, and the team could be ultimately be unchanged from the 1-0 defeat last time out.

A 4-2-3-1 formation is likely to include Pablo Galdames in the number 10 position, while leading goalscorer Mattia Destro will start at centre-forward for the relegation-threatened outfit.

As for Juventus, Mattia De Sciglio and Juan Cuadrado are doubts, while Federico Chiesa, Manuel Locatelli, Kaio Jorge and Weston McKennie will definitely be absent.

Head coach Allegri is expected to keep faith with the majority of the side that took to the field last time out, although there could be a change in midfield, with Arthur potentially featuring alongside Adrien Rabiot and Denis Zakaria, while Giorgio Chiellini could return at the back.

Alex Sandro is also pushing to be involved on the left, but Luca Pellegrini should retain his spot, while Dusan Vlahovic is set to be joined by Alvaro Morata in the final third of the field.

Genoa possible starting lineup:
Sirigu; Frendrup, Bani, Ostigard, Vasquez; Sturaro, Badelj; Ekuban, Galdames, Amiri; Destro

Juventus possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Chiellini, Bonucci, De Ligt; Bernardeschi, Zakaria, Arthur, Rabiot, Pellegrini; Morata, Vlahovic

We say: Genoa 1-2 Juventus

Genoa are fighting for their lives towards the bottom of the table and are more than capable of picking up a positive result against Juventus. The Old Lady have been in strong form in recent weeks, though, and we are expecting the visitors to shade a close contest on Friday night.

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