Hellas Verona are intent on ending a four-month wait for Serie A success when they welcome Lazio to Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi on Saturday.
The club from Veneto seek a victory in gameweek 15 to potentially move out of the relegation zone, while Maurizio Sarri's team are keen to secure a fourth consecutive win in all competitions.
Match preview
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When Verona defeated Jose Mourinho's Roma in late August, supporters at the Bentegodi never imagined maximum points would elude them for four months.
However, reality has not been kind to the Mastiffs, whose run without winning a game in all competitions clocked 13 after Sunday's 3-3 draw with fellow strugglers Udinese.
Despite the absence of wins, Verona must be pleased that the losing run — Mastini were defeated six times on the trot in all competitions (five in Serie A) — has been accompanied by consecutive draws as they seek to arrest the worrisome drought.
Marco Baroni's men should believe they are nearing a turnaround after the last two games that have seen the Mastiffs score more goals (five) than they managed between September and the November international break (four).
Whether they are prolific against Lazio remains to be seen, but fans at the Bentegodi approach this weekend's game with more optimism than they probably might have had if the fixture was played a fortnight back.
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As for Sarri's Lazio, a third consecutive clean sheet sufficed for the capital club on Tuesday, with a 1-0 triumph over Genoa taking them into the last eight of the Coppa Italia.
The Biancocelesti's last three victories have been in different competitions, and the club with Champions League qualification aspirations are keen to claim back-to-back wins in Serie A for the first time since October.
With the race for the top four spots incredibly tight, Sarri's men can ill afford another disheartening slip-up in a game the travelling support expects a victory — the capital club were defeated by cellar-dwelling Salernitana in their previous road fixture.
Goals have been in short supply with Lazio, with two blanks fired in their last four games, and they aim to score more than one goal managed in Salerno and last weekend's 1-0 triumph over Claudio Ranieri's Cagliari.
Beating Verona should be expected on paper, but the unpleasant experience at Salernitana induces caution for the league's ninth-placed side, who could move as high as fifth with maximum points and results elsewhere going their way.
Team News
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Baroni is still without the quartet of Pawel Dawidowicz (thigh), Isak Hien (muscle), Riccardo Saponara (muscle) and Giangiacomo Magnani (foot), even if they are nearing returns.
Cyril Ngonge and Milan Djuric have been among the goals in the last two gameweeks, and the pair could play pivotal roles on Saturday.
While Patric and Luis Alberto are doubtful for this weekend's visit to Verona, the latter should return to the team — but Alessio Romagnoli and Gustav Isaksen are ruled out.
Ciro Immobile's search for his first open-play goal in Serie A since August continued after firing blanks last weekend, and it remains to be seen if the centre-forward comes up trumps at the Bentegodi.
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Terracciano, Copola, Amione, Tchatchoua; Duda, Folorunsho, Suslov; Ngonge, Duric, Lazovic
Lazio possible starting lineup:
Provedel; Lazzari, Casale, Fuentes, Marusic; Guendouzi, Rovella, Kamada; Anderson, Immobile, Pedro
We say: Hellas Verona 1-1 Lazio
Verona's search for a win could wait another week, but they could hold Lazio to a draw at the Bentegodi on Saturday.
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