Serie A Preview: Hellas Verona vs Inter – Team News, Line-ups & Prediction

Saturday’s Serie A action kicks off at Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi with a ‘David vs Goliath’ clash between bottom-half Hellas Verona and title-defending Inter. However, both teams headed into November’s international break off the back of winless league outings.

Despite replying to Moise Kean’s early opener through Suat Serdar, Paolo Zanetti’s side slumped to a 3-1 defeat at Artemio Franchi as the former Juventus center-forward registered his first hat-trick in the Fiorentina jersey. Despite losing four of their last five Serie A games, Verona spent the international pause outside the bottom three.

That doesn’t mean Zanetti can rest easy. On the contrary, a three-point lead over 18th-placed Lecce means the relegation fight is still on for Verona. But the Gialloblu could perhaps find some comfort in beating Roma 3-2 in their last home league match, proving they can cope with the division’s finest.

Reigning Scudetto holders undoubtedly belong to that group. Simone Inzaghi’s team wasted a glorious opportunity to ascend the throne on the stroke of the international break. Hakan Calhanoglu’s rocket missile salvaged a point for Inter in a controversial 1-1 home draw against table-topping Napoli.

However, the Turkish midfielder squandered a penalty deep into the second half. Calhanoglu’s first miss from the spot in the Nerazzurri shirt left the visitors a point adrift of Antonio Conte’s side. Level on points with three other sides, Inter must bounce back in Verona, especially with more high-profile fixtures waiting in the wings.

Match Preview

Hellas Verona

Zanetti’s ‘all or nothing’ approach has seen none of Verona’s 12 Serie A games this season end all square (W4, L8). Encouragingly for the home faithful, three of those four victories arrived at the Bentegodi, including high-scoring triumphs against Roma and Napoli.

Indeed, Verona thrashed the Partenopei 3-0 on the opening weekend. But, encounters against Inter have often ended badly for the Gialloblu. To that into perspective, their last top-flight win against the 20-time Italian champions dates back to February 1992.

They have since suffered 21 defeats in 26 league meetings with this opposition (D5). Furthermore, they’ve failed to beat Inter across their last 13 home matches (D4, L9), though they did pull off a 2-2 draw in this corresponding fixture in 2023/24.

Overall, Verona have only won four of their 66 clashes against the Nerazzurri in one of the most one-sided match-ups in Serie A history (D22, L40).

Inter

Buoyed by a dominant head-to-head record, Inter will take this trip seeking redemption for the abovementioned draw against Napoli. Despite dropping two valuable points at Giuseppe Meazza, Simone Inzaghi’s men ride on an eye-catching ten-game unbeaten run in all competitions (W8, D2).

With only two points separating the top-six sides after 12 rounds, Inter must stay on the upward trajectory. They’ll lock horns with fellow high-flyers Fiorentina and Lazio in the next two Serie A matchdays, highlighting the significance of leaving the Bentegodi victorious.

They seem perfectly positioned to hold up their end of the bargain. Indeed, a 3-0 demolition of 10-man Empoli on their last top-flight travel marked Inter’s fourth consecutive away win in all competitions, three of which yielded a clean sheet.

That’s a noticeable defensive improvement, considering the visitors have already conceded 14 league goals this season. In comparison, they capitulated 22 times during their title-winning campaign last term.

Team News

In addition to long-term absentees Pawel Dawidowicz, Juan Cruz, and Martin Frese, Verona could be without midfield mainstay Ondrej Duda. He picked up an injury during international duty with Slovakia and could be on the sidelines until December.

On a positive note, Zanetti welcomes Dailon Livramento back to the fold after serving a one-game ban in Tuscany.

As for Inter, Calhanoglu sustained a minor thigh issue during Turkey’s UEFA Nations League game against Wales. Therefore, Inzaghi will likely turn to Albanian midfielder Kristjan Asllani to fill the vacancy, with the 22-year-old ready to make his first Serie A start since mid-September.

Meanwhile, Carlos Augusto is back from injury after missing the last five games due to a muscle strain.

Hellas Verona vs Inter Potential Starting Line-ups

Hellas Verona (4-2-3-1): Lorenzo Montipo; Jackson Tchatchoua, Diego Coppola, Giangiacomo Magnani, Domagoj Bradaric; Reda Belahyane, Suat Serdar; Tomas Suslov, Grigoris Kastanos, Darko Lazovic; Casper Tengstedt.

Inter (3-5-2): Yann Sommer; Benjamin Pavard, Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni; Denzel Dumfries, Nicolo Barella, Kristjan Asllani, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Federico Dimarco; Marcus Thuram, Lautaro Martinez.

Hellas Verona vs Inter Prediction

Seven of Verona’s last nine Serie A outings featured the opening goal within 15 minutes, underscoring the potential for a quick-fire start. Based on the home side’s long-standing woes in this fixture, that’s music to Inter’s ears, considering an early opener could be crucial.

Even if that’s not the case, Inter should scoop up three points without much fuss.

Prediction: Inter to Win

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