Hellas Verona will host visitors Lazio at the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi on Thursday night in what concludes the midweek in Serie A.
Both sides will have to adjust to the short turnaround as they have little time to recover from their respective matches from the weekend.
The Gialloblu had made another promising start to their domestic campaign in their second consecutive season in Serie A. However, two successive defeats including a 6-2 demolition at the hands of Napoli sees The Mastini currently lie in 10th place with 11 points on the table.
Three wins and two draws after eight matches for Verona is respectable considering they lost one of the league’s most talented players in Juan Manuel Iturbe during the summer.
As for the Biancocelesti they had to overcome an initial form slump where coach Stefano Pioli managed just one win in their first four outings. The sluggish start consequently meant they plummeted to the foot of the ladder, hovering above the relegation zone. However, those poor run of results appear a distant memory as the side has extended its winning streak to four matches, recently conquering Torino 2-1and now comfortably sit in fifth spot on 15 points.
The corresponding fixture last season ended in a 4-1 victory to the hosts, courtesy of two goals from experienced campaigner Luca Toni. Nevertheless, Lazio head into the match as slight favourites given their impeccable form.
Verona boss Andrea Mandorlini will welcome the return of Rafael Marquez after serving his one match suspension against Napoli at the weekend, while Guillermo Rodriguez, Mounir Obbadi and Jacopo Sala all remain sidelined.
A number of personnel changes could be on the cards for Verona after that disastrous second-half capitulation at Napoli, where they conceded four goals in the last 25 minutes. Striker Javier Saviola and midfielder Bosko Jankovic could find themselves catapulted into the starting line-up for the game.
For Lazio, Santiago Gentiletti continues to be the only long-term absentee and could potentially miss the entire season. Doubts also surrounds captain Stefano Mauri who is likely to miss the match.
Expected Starting XIs
Verona: Rafael; Martic, Marquez, Marques, Moras; Jankovic, Tachtsidis, Hallfredsson; Nico Lopez, Toni, Saviola
Lazio: Marchetti; Cavanda, Cana, De Vrij, Radu; Parolo, Biglia, Onazi; Candreva, Djordjevic, Lulic
