Palermo vs Livorno

A struggling Palermo return home to host Livorno looking to snap a poor run of results that has seen them slide down the Serie A table. Livorno will be trying to start a new positive run after having their 9 match unbeaten run snapped last week.

The side managed by Francesco Guidolin are now in 9^th place of the Serie A league table with 25 points for the season. They are 1 point back of 8^th place Atalanta and just ahead of 10^th place Genoa. Last week saw Palermo lose away to AS Roma by a score of 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico di Roma. It was their 3^rd straight loss and extended their unbeaten run to 4 consecutive matches. In fact, they have not won a match since 2007. There are no injury concerns this week for Palermo with just Rinaudo out due to suspension. Top scorer Amauri who leads the club with 8 goals will be the lone striker in their 4-3-2-1 system.

Livorno had their very positive 9 match unbeaten run snapped by the mighty Juventus in week 20. They were soundly beaten by a score of 1-3 at home and the loss drops them to 13^th place in the league table with 21 points. They sit 2 points back of 12^th place Catania and 1 point ahead of SS Lazio. There are a number of injury concerns this week for the side managed by Camolese and this includes the usual suspects Bergvold, Giannicheda, and Volpe along with Rezaei and Grandoni. Pavan is expected to cover for Grandoni in the 3 man back line featuring Galante and Knezevic.

This match is pretty much a toss up. Palermo have played like anything but world beaters at home with just 3 wins from 10 matches, while Livorno have been very strong away from home of late and save for the loss to Juventus have been quite impressive. It is very important for Livorno to avoid losing a second straight match as their league position is such that they could fall right back into relegation trouble with a defeat. A split of the points is quite possible.

 

Prediction: Draw (0-0)