On Wednesday, Genoa takes on city rivals Sampdoria in a special Coppa Italia edition of the Derby della Lanterna, pitting two fierce rivals against one another.
After trading places with Samp last season, the Grifone have easily adjusted to life back in Serie A, but their opponents in the second round are now having trouble in the second tier of Italy.
The oldest Italian football match is the city derby between Genoa and Sampdoria, which is contested at Stadio Luigi Ferraris, also known as Marassi, which both teams share. The inaugural match took place in 1902.
Although Genoa has always been the more successful team, both have experienced a lot of ups and downs recently. In the summer of 2023, the Grifone were promoted to the top league, right before Samp dropped to Serie B.
Before they began the current season with five points from as many games played as of yet, it was Alberto Gilardino who guided them back to the promised land and held them there the previous season.
Most recently, Genoa lost 2-0 at newly promoted Venezia on Saturday after a thrilling draw with Roma, dropping them to 16th place in the early Serie A standings.
Gilardino's club has two crucial games in the coming days: a league match against Juventus right after the derby. He will want his team to recover quickly.
Genoa plans to inflict further suffering on their most formidable opponents by eliminating Reggiana from the cup and scheduling a meeting with Roma in the round of sixteen, following their victory over the Serie B team in the first round last month.
In terms of cup victories, Genoa is still three behind Sampdoria, despite the fact that Samp had won the Coppa Italia no less than four times in a ten-year span during their heyday in the 1980s and 1990s.
They also triumphed over their Rossoblu rivals in both Serie A derbies when the teams last faced off in the 2021–2022 season, but things haven't gone well since then.
Relegated last year, Samp failed to bounce back at the first attempt, losing in the playoffs, and after a sluggish start to this season they terminated high-profile head coach Andrea Pirlo.
The Blucerchiati, who currently rank 17th in the Serie B standings, are still having difficulty living up to their illustrious past even after hiring Andrea Sottil, who was sacked by Udinese in October of last year.
But on Saturday, they ultimately secured their second victory of the year, defeating Sudtirol 1-0 thanks to a goal from Lorenzo Venuti. The other
