A solitary place in the Serie A standings separates mid-table rivals Hellas Verona and Torino, who meet at Stadio Bentegodi on Saturday evening for their penultimate fixture of the 2021-22 season with kickoff at 7 pm.
After failing to win successive Serie A matches since January, last Sunday, Verona squandered a one-goal advantage to find themselves on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline against league leaders Milan.
After a Sandro Tonali-inspired comeback by the Rossoneri rendered Hellas captain Davide Faraoni’s opener meaningless. The Scaligeri have stayed inside the top half of the table by a margin of five points from Sassuolo, who occupy 11th, and are unlikely to repeat their inconsistency throughout their next 14 games.
Calcio’s kings of inconsistency are increasingly unpredictable but remain safely inside the top half of the table by a margin of five points from Sassuolo, who occupy 11th, and Igor Tudor’s first season in charge is close to concluding in relative success.
After Torino lost 1-0 to Napoli last weekend, they will have to beat Lazio and Milan twice to catch them in the standings.
Torino’s goalkeeper Etrit Berisha saved Lorenzo Insigne’s penalty – the second time Italy forward has failed from the spot against Torino this term. Against two different goalkeepers – only to be beaten by Fabian Ruiz’s deflected shot: a desperate lunge from Koffi Djidji supplying the unfortunate touch.
Hellas Verona vs. Torino Head to Head
Both sides have 15 games against each other, with hosts taking three wins while opponents with four wins. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Hellas Verona 1-3 Milan
- Cagliari 1-2 Verona
- Verona 1-1 Sampdoria
- Atalanta 1-2 Verona
- Inter 2-0 Verona
Away
- Torino 0-1 Napoli
- Empoli 1-3 Torino
- Atalanta 4-4 Torino
- Torino 2-1 Spezia
- Lazio 0-0 Torino
Hellas Verona Team News
Verona skipper Davide Faraoni will sit out Saturday’s game as he serves a suspension for accumulated bookings. That enforced switch may be the only change made by head coach Igor Tudor, as the hosts’ well-established forward trio of Antonin Barak, Gianluca Caprari, and leading scorer Giovanni Simeone (16 goals) have already netted 39 times between them this season.
Torino Team News
When they host Genoa on Saturday, Torino hopes to have Sasa Lukic back from a one-match ban, which interrupted an unexpected burst of goalscoring form. Wing-back Wilfried Singo is suspended, so Ola Aina should be drafted at the Bentegodi.
Prediction and Odds
The hosts pose an attacking threat from several sources and can complete back-to-back wins over their former manager.
- Verona Win
- Goals Over 1.5
- No Score: Away
