Como vs Genoa Prediction: Fabregas to win battle of ex-Gunners

The final act from matchday three in Serie A will see Cesc Fabregas and his Como side welcoming Genoa to the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia on Monday evening (19:45 BST, live on DAZN). Como were winners here on week one against Lazio but have since lost at Cagliari. Genoa earned a point in their season-opener at home to Lecce but were then beaten at Juventus and have yet to score a goal.

Former Arsenal stars Fabregas and Patrick Vieira will go head to head as rival bosses in this one, with the Spaniard having led Como to a top-half finish last term and seemingly turned down overtures from Inter Milan in the summer. Below are my predictions for this Serie A clash between Como and Genoa alongside the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Team News

Fabregas will have been relieved to get the transfer window closed as interest in star forward Nico Paz was most unwelcome. The Argentine will lead the line now, with Alvaro Morata or Anastasios Douvikas likely to be alongside him.

Brazilian defender Diego Carlos joined on deadline day and could debut, while summer recruit from Celtic Nicholas Kuhn is fit again.

Assane Diao (foot), Alberto Dossena (ACL) and full-back Ignace Van Der Brempt (thigh) are all missing for the hosts.

Genoa meanwhile are without Danish defender Sebastian Otoa due to injury, while Maxwel Cornet has returned for a second loan spell this month.

Summer arrivals Albert Gronbaek, Valentin Carboni and Nicolae Stanciu have all featured prominently and should do so again for Vieira's side.

Como vs Genoa Odds

Como are strong favourites at 4/6 to get their second home win of the season, with Genoa trading at 9/2 and the draw priced at 13/5. Over 2.5 goals can be backed at 11/10, with both teams to score also at 11/10.

Como -1 @ 15/8

Como's last four games in Serie A have all come in under 2.5 goals but, even allowing for that, they are facing a visiting Genoa side that have failed to score in their first two games.

Fabregas' team plays with a high press and they like to exert pressure on their opponents. They are reliable in contests they are expected to win, taking maximum points in the last four Serie A games in which they were odds-on to do so.

They had daylight to spare against Lazio here in their opening home game of the season, dominating possession and having 19 shots to just five for the visiting side.

They can overcome Genoa by more than a single goal, with Vieira's side only managing three shots on target across their first two games.

Nico Paz to score first @ 5/1

Paz impressed in that win over Lazio. He played a wonderful slide rule pass that allowed Anastasios Douvikas to open the scoring and then curled in a sublime free kick, left-footed into the top corner, to seal the points.

He is a master of his craft from dead balls and the 21-year-old should improve on his six goals and eight assists from last season. He's 7/4 to score anytime, but may be worth the extra value to break the deadlock.

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