Cagliari vs Genoa preview - Del Neri targets Genoa surge

Posted Sunday, January 13, 2013 by PA

Head coach Luigi Del Neri is eager to put daylight between Genoa and the relegation places with a positive result at Cagliari on Sunday.

Del Neri's men finally climbed out of the bottom three with a 2-0 victory over Bologna last time out, leapfrogging the Isolani who went down 2-1 at Lazio, and three points from the Stadio Is Arenas could see Genoa move four points clear of 18th place.

Matuzalem, Antonio Floro Flores, Eros Pisano and Thomas Manfredini have all moved to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in January but Del Neri paid tribute to players old and new for engineering a three-game unbeaten run.

He said: "Everyone deserves the credit. We need everyone to lend a hand to help Genoa reach the important goal of achieving survival.

"It's a result of application and team spirit and we will pull ourselves out of trouble."

Defender Pisano, who arrived from Palermo in a part-exchange deal with Anselmo, added: "We are two teams that are hungry for points and I'm not sure playing away from home will affect us.

"Wins certainly help and the one on Sunday saw us leave the relegation zone. We want to make it four positive results in a row."

Genoa travel without suspended forward Ciro Immobile, with defender Damiano Ferronetti and midfielders Bosko Jankovic and Juan Vargas all sidelined through injury.

Cagliari boss Ivo Pulga has several personnel concerns as he serves a one-game touchline ban, with midfielder Andrea Cossu and goalkeeper Michael Agazzi suspended as defender Lorenzo Ariaudo recovers from injury.

The Sardinians finally slipped back into the bottom three on the back of a sixth straight defeat, having failed to register a win in nine attempts, a remarkable statistic given the fact Pulga won four games in a row upon his appointment.

There were unsavoury reports of alleged racist chants towards Cagliari striker Victor Ibarbo from the stands of the Stadio Olimpico, with general manager Francesco Marroccu expanding on his version of events.

"I spoke to the fourth official and the referee, but I wasn't too pushy," he told La Repubblica. "These kind of episodes are reprehensible but I think the officials need to ensure the smooth running of the game.

"At the end I told the players to calm down and think about the next game."