Last Updated on April 11, 2026 8:04 pm by ZUWP Automation
Laurienté’s creativity against a Genoa side that has beaten Roma but lost to Juventus — who holds their nerve at the Ferraris?
Genoa arrive at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris having beaten Roma at home and Hellas Verona away in recent weeks, yet they remain a side of sharp contradictions: capable of taking down credible opposition, yet still capable of shipping a 2-0 defeat to Juventus just last weekend. Sassuolo travel north with their own inconsistencies — a draw at Juventus, a win over Atalanta — but they carry something Genoa will find difficult to contain: one of the most creative wide players in Serie A this season.
Match Details
- Venue: Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris, Genoa
- Date: 12 April 2026
Form: Mirrors and Contradictions
Genoa’s last five reads 3W 0D 2L, and the texture of those results tells a more complicated story than the win count suggests. The 3-0 home win over Torino and the 2-1 victory over Roma at the Ferraris demonstrate genuine quality on their own patch. Away from home, though, they have shipped four goals without reply across two fixtures against Inter and Juventus.
That home-away split matters here. Genoa on their own ground are a different proposition. Lorenzo Colombo, their top scorer with six goals in 29 appearances, will look to press that advantage against a Sassuolo defence that has conceded in four of their last five.
Sassuolo’s form reads 2W 1D 2L across the same period. The draw at Juventus stands out — not many sides take a point from Turin — and the 2-1 home win over Atalanta earlier in the run carries genuine weight. But they lost at home to Bologna and away to Lazio, which suggests a side that can rise to the occasion selectively rather than consistently.
Key Players to Watch
The most compelling figure in either squad is Sassuolo’s Armand Laurienté. Across 29 appearances, he has contributed five goals and seven assists, with 40 key passes and 11 big chances created. That big chances created figure ranks him 12th in all of Serie A — a remarkable return for a wide forward, and a number that places him among the division’s elite creators. Genoa’s defence will need to account for him from the first whistle.
Domenico Berardi complements Laurienté with seven goals in 19 appearances, a goals-per-game rate of 0.37 that makes him Sassuolo’s most clinical threat. His average rating of 7.23 across those matches is the highest of any player with meaningful minutes in either squad. When Berardi is on the pitch and in rhythm, Sassuolo are a different side.
In midfield, Ismaël Koné provides the engine. Five goals from midfield, 18 key passes, and an 85-duel season underline a player who affects matches at both ends. His passing volume — 710 accurate passes from 778 attempted — reflects a midfielder who keeps the ball moving and covers ground.
For Genoa, Colombo’s six goals from 52 shots this season — with 21 on target — marks him as a volume striker who earns his opportunities through persistence. Tommaso Baldanzi, meanwhile, has contributed 10 key passes across 20 appearances in a more creative midfield role, though his conversion rate (one goal from 12 shots) suggests he is more provider than finisher. The defensive burden falls heavily on Alessandro Marcandalli, who has accumulated 84 clearances, 15 interceptions, and 64 duels won across 27 matches — the kind of numbers that paint a picture of a centre-back regularly asked to do the heavy lifting.
Season Stats Comparison
The contrast in creative output between these two squads is striking. Sassuolo’s top chance creator, Laurienté, has generated 11 big chances this season — ranked 12th in Serie A. Genoa’s equivalent, Aarón Martín, has created two. That gap is not a minor discrepancy; it reflects a structural difference in how the two sides produce attacking threat.
| Stat | Genoa | Sassuolo |
|---|---|---|
| Top Scorer | Colombo (6 goals) | Berardi (7 goals) |
| Top Assister | Marcandalli (2 assists) | Laurienté (7 assists) |
| Top Chance Creator (big chances) | Martín (2) | Laurienté (11, 12th in Serie A) |
| Top Tackler | Marcandalli (17) | Matic (39, 101st in Serie A) |
| Top Passer | Marcandalli (804 passes) | Matic (1,402 passes) |
Nemanja Matic’s passing volume — 1,402 total passes, ranking him 29th in all of Serie A — tells you exactly how Sassuolo want to control matches. Sebastian Walukiewicz adds to that structure from defence, with 39 tackles and 20 interceptions across 27 appearances, giving Sassuolo a disciplined spine that Genoa will need to find a way around.
Head to Head
There is only one previous meeting to reference here, and it went Sassuolo’s way. In November 2025, Sassuolo — playing as the away side — came from behind to beat Genoa 2-1, with Genoa having led 1-0. One meeting is not a pattern, but it is a recent psychological reference point that Sassuolo will carry into the Ferraris with quiet confidence.
Closing Paragraph
Genoa are a more reliable force at the Ferraris than they are on the road, and that home advantage is real. But Sassuolo arrive with the more dangerous creative unit: Berardi’s 7.23 average rating, Laurienté’s 11 big chances created, and Matic’s stranglehold on midfield represent a collective attacking threat that Genoa’s defence has not faced in comparable form this season. The central question Sunday poses is straightforward: can Genoa’s home resilience absorb Sassuolo’s creativity, or will Laurienté and Berardi find the spaces that Genoa’s opponents have been unable to exploit at the Ferraris? The answer will tell us a great deal about both sides’ ambitions for the remainder of the campaign.
