Fiorentina vs Genoa preview - Fiorentina desperate to get back to winning ways

Posted Sunday, October 30, 2011 by PA

Fiorentina captain Alessandro Gamberini is hopeful his team can halt a long wait for a Serie A win when they host Genoa on Sunday.

The Viola have not come out triumphant in the league since beating Parma 3-0 on September 21 and two defeats and three draws have followed since then.

Tuesday's 2-1 loss at Juventus dropped Fiorentina to 13th position in the standings, three points clear of the drop zone, and piled further pressure on coach Sinisa Mihajlovic.

"We are going through a delicate time," Gamberini said.

"But we need to be calm and be comforted by our recent performances which can only give us hope for our future games."

Gamberini has called on supporters to get behind the team in Sunday's contest.

"This is an important game," he said. "I ask all of our wonderful fans to come to the Artemio Franchi stadium and support us until the final whistle.

"We really need their help to win on Sunday."

Genoa will be fired up for Sunday's match having held Juventus to a 2-2 draw before beating Roma 2-1 at home on Wednesday.

The midweek result was Genoa's third win of the season and lifted Alberto Malesani's side to eighth place.

Fiorentina will be without midfielder Valon Behrami, who serves a one-match ban but welcome back Alberto Gilardino to the starting XI.

Gilardino, who was strongly linked with a move to Genoa this summer, came off the bench in his team's last two games and will lead Fiorentina's attack this weekend.

The visitors are still without suspended defender Kakha Kaladze.

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