The second half of the Serie A season begins with relegation-threatened Hellas Verona and Empoli battling in gameweek 20 at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi on Saturday.
Both sides, unsurprisingly out of form, are separated by a point in the standings, further adding to the importance of this weekend's result.
Match preview
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Hellas Verona picked up a win over Cagliari in their penultimate game before Christmas but have not built on that result, underscored by back-to-back defeats against bottom-placed Salernitana and Inter Milan.
While they were inferior to the Salerno outfit in their final game of 2023 and were fortunate to lose 1-0 despite conceding several chances, Marco Baroni's men suffered misfortune against the league leaders.
Two incidents went against the Mastiffs — Alessandro Bastoni could have been penalised in the build-up to Inter's eventual winning goal in minute 93, and Thomas Henry missed a last-gasp penalty to level at the death — keeping Verona in the bottom three.
Baroni's men were disappointing in their previous game at the Bentegodi, a defeat that saw the Veneto-based outfit fail to extend their undefeated home run to four.
The failure to score enough in front of their fans (nine goals in as many games) means another close game could be in the offing on Saturday, with the outcome uncertain.
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Empoli may have the worst home record in Serie A, securing five points from a possible 30, but the Azzurri fare slightly better on their travels, underscored by two victories and two ties in nine road matches.
While the team's hugest victory this term came against Napoli at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, the Florence outfit have not recorded a win since that November 12 success in Naples.
Last weekend's 3-0 defeat against AC Milan extended the Blues' winless run to seven games, and it remains to be seen if the tide is turned at the Bentegodi.
Aurelio Andreazzoli's men must find their scoring boots to avoid eventual relegation, with five home goals and as many on their travels making the second-bottom side the division's lowest scorers (10 goals).
That statistic does not bode well for the visitors, who could be overtaken by Salernitana this weekend if Filippo Inzaghi's men shock Napoli at the Maradona.
Team News
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An enraged Darko Lazovic was dismissed after Inter's second goal last weekend, ruling out the Verona midfielder for Saturday's game.
Pawel Dawidowicz's muscle injury could keep him out until the end of January.
The away side have several injury problems, with Jacopo Fazzini (eye) and Tyronne Ebuehi (muscle) absent until late January, while Simone Bastoni (thigh) is not expected to return until next month.
Furthermore, Gabriele Guarino (muscle) is doubtful, and no timescale has been put on Giuseppe Pezzella's return from a back injury.
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Tchatchoua, Coppola, Magnani, Doig; Duda, Suslov, Folorunsho; Mboula, Djuric, Ngonge
Empoli possible starting lineup:
Caprile; Bereszynski, Walukiewicz, Luperto, Cacace; Marin, Grassi, Maleh; Baldanzi; Caputo, Cambiaghi
We say: Hellas Verona 1-1 Empoli
Three of the last four meetings between these clubs have ended 1-1, and another low-scoring draw could be on the cards at the Bentegodi on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
