Genoa travel to Cagliari on Sunday on a mission to restore some pride after their heaviest defeat of the season.

The Grifoni were humiliated 5-0 at the Luigi Ferraris stadium by Serie A leaders Inter Milan last weekend.

The reverse saw them drop to sixth in the standings, two points behind fourth-placed Fiorentina.

The outcome proved a psychological blow for Genoa, who went on to lose 3-0 at Lille in the Europa League four days later.

Genoa coach Giampiero Gasperini could not hide his disappointment after his team's recent below-par performances.

"Against Lille we created little and when we went behind we gave away a lot of space to our opponents," he said. "We looked slow and lacking ideas up front.

"As for the game against Inter, my team showed very little character.

"We made too many errors and to concede three goals in the opening half is unforgivable.

"After that, we left ourselves with a big mountain to climb.

"I am extremely disappointed, we cannot give so many chances to our rivals if we wish to take a win."

Genoa will be hoping not to make the same mistakes again this weekend.

"We have to work hard and make sure we don't make the same errors," said Genoa midfielder Giuseppe Sculli. "We are going through a delicate time but this is not a crisis.

"We have the quality and the experience to come out of this situation.

"It is understandable that our fans are angry and disappointed but we hope to turn things around starting on Sunday in Sardinia."

Genoa have reason to be upbeat about their chances of taking a positive result in Cagliari.

They have claimed six of their current 13 points on their travels, while the Sardinians have yet to claim a point at home this term.

Massimiliano Allegri's side have failed to come out of first gear when playing in front of their home fans and will be desperate to avoid their fourth defeat at the Sant' Elia on Sunday.

The Rossoblu go into the game on the back of a 2-1 defeat at Catania which marked their second straight loss.

The outcome left Cagliari one point clear of the drop zone.

Allegri has urged his players to forget about last weekend's setback and concentrate on stepping up their game against Genoa.

"We didn't play a good game at Catania," Allegri said. "We made mistakes and we were punished for them.

"But we need to forget about that defeat and concentrate on playing better against Genoa on Sunday.

"We are calm because we know we have room for improvement.

"Our aim is to avoid the drop and we know we will be have to work hard for it."

The visitors will be without defender Domenico Criscito, who suffered a recurring muscular injury at Lille having only returned to play in midweek.

Allegri will have all his players available with the exception of injured defender Francesco Pisano.