Lazio on Sunday afternoon in the sixth round of Serie A.
Neither side will be content with any less than all three points by the final whistle on Sunday, as both clubs have been left grasping after suffering a disappointing start to the season.
Verona are yet to register a single win, having only drawn three of their opening five, leaving them hovering dangerously above the relegation zone. A 1-0 loss midweek to Inter will do the home side no favours either, with moral likely low in the Gialloblu camp.
Stefano Pioli’s side meanwhile have also found great difficulty in taking off this season, tumbling against Verona’s city counterparts Chievo in a heavy loss before being humiliated 5-0 by Napoli.
Such defeats have created a huge amount of tension between the Aquile and their fans, though they did go one step towards repairing the damage when they downed Genoa 2-0 in convincing fashion on Wednesday evening.
Felipe Anderson found himself on the scoresheet the last time these two sides met, back in March with Antonio Candreva netting the other goal in a 2-0 win for Lazio.
If previous ties are anything to go by then we could see a fiery game, as the last four encounters have produced three red cards in addition to fifteen goals.
Andrea Mandorlini will be happy to see Emil Hallfredsson return to his side though the Italian coach might have to do without main striker Giampaolo Pazzini, who was forced off the pitch against Inter with an injury just 20 minutes into the game. Key man Jacopo Sala is also a slight doubt for the match, though tests will be taken in the week to determine his fitness. The only other main blow to Verona is that of Luca Toni, who will remain on the sidelines for the next few months.
There are no major concerns for Lazio, who should be able to field a similar line up to that used against Genoa.
Form Guide: Hellas Verona (D-L-D-D-L) Lazio (W-L-W-L-W)
Expected Starting XIs
Verona: Rafael; Pisano, Bianchetti, Moras, Souprayen; Sala, Viviani, Greco, Siligardi, Gomez, Jankovic.
Lazio: Marchetti, Basta, Gentiletti, Mauricio, Radu, Cataldi, Parolo, Milinkovic-Savic, Kishna, Felipe Anderson, Djordjevic.
Infographics Source: www.sporticos.com
