Running out of time to pull off a great escape from the Serie A relegation zone, Hellas Verona welcome an in-form Empoli side to the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi for Sunday's penultimate round of fixtures.
Marco Zaffaroni's men were put to the sword 3-1 by Atalanta BC last weekend, while their visitors subjected Juventus to an embarrassing 4-1 defeat.
Match preview
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Few teams have come away from the Gewiss Stadium unscathed during Atalanta's Gian Piero Gasperini era, and it was no different for Hellas Verona last weekend, as La Dea inflicted another damaging blow on the Gialloblu's survival hopes.
Darko Lazovic had Hellas Verona in dreamland with an 11th-minute opener, but Davide Zappacosta appropriately took another 11 minutes to cancel out the Serbian's strike before Mario Pasalic and Rasmus Hojlund turned the game on its head after the break.
Following a brief Easter revival which saw Zaffaroni's side go four games unbeaten, this weekend's hosts have slid down a slippery slope with three defeats from their last four in the top flight to sit 18th in the standings, only ahead of the already-relegated Cremonese and Sampdoria.
The Gialloblu have a one-point gap to make up to Spezia and are three points worse off than Lecce, so it is certainly not mission impossible for Hellas Verona, but defeat this weekend coupled with victories for their two relegation rivals would officially bring their four-year stay in the big time to an end.
A New Year initially brought new hope for Zaffaroni's men at home, as they lost just one of their first eight fixtures at the Marcantonio Bentegodi in 2023, but they have since suffered back-to-back beatings at the hands of Inter Milan (6-0) and Torino (1-0) in front of their own fans, who may lay witness to their side's demotion if results across the land go against them here.
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Perhaps pre-occupied with thoughts of another impending points deduction, Juventus - the resident crisis club of the top half of the Serie A table - were torn to shreds at Empoli's Carlo Castellani, where Paolo Zanetti's side continued on their upward trajectory in some style.
Two Francesco Caputo strikes either side of a Sebastiano Luperto effort put the game out of reach for Juventus, who did bag a consolation late on through Federico Chiesa, but Roberto Piccoli restored Empoli's sensational three-goal lead in the dying embers.
Having amassed 10 points from 12 on offer during the merry month of May, Empoli have assured themselves of a third straight season of top-flight football as they sit comfortably in 14th place in the rankings, still capable of finishing as high as 12th with another pair of wins to close out the campaign.
However, Empoli's only away game in their four-match unbeaten sequence ended in a 1-1 draw with whipping boys Sampdoria, and Zanetti's men have now failed to win any of their last eight away contests since another one of their giant killings - beating Inter Milan 1-0 at San Siro on January 23.
The last two meetings between Hellas Verona and Empoli have ended in a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw, but the Gialloblu have just one win to boast from their last six meetings with Zanetti's men and should avoid taking a leaf out of Juventus' book if they are to remain alive in the fight for Serie A security.
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Injury was added to insult for Hellas Verona in their defeat to Atalanta last weekend, as goalscorer Lazovic came off with a thigh injury in the second half and could now miss the rest of the season.
Lazovic joins a well-occupied infirmary also holding Ondrej Duda (ACL), Kevin Lasagna (muscle), Josh Doig (muscle), Pawel Dawidowicz (hamstring) and Thomas Henry (knee), and the attacker's absence could lead to a recall for Simone Verdi against his former club.
Davide Faraoni will no doubt be eyeing Filippo Terracciano's spot at right wing-back also, but the former set up Lazovic's goal last weekend and may have done enough to keep hold of his spot.
As far as Empoli are concerned, Zanetti has been dealt a double suspension blow ahead of their penultimate fixture, as Fabiano Parisi and Filippo Bandinelli picked up their 10th yellow cards of the season last weekend and will sit this one out.
To complicate matters in the middle, Tommaso Baldanzi - who scored in the reverse fixture back in August - is away with Italy at the Under-20 World Cup, while Koni De Winter (knee), Razvan Marin (calf) and Sebastian Walukiewicz (muscle) are confined to the treatment room.
New Zealand international Liberato Cacace could be a straight swap for Parisi at left-back, while Liam Henderson and Nicolas Haas will compete to fill the void left by Bandinelli in the middle.
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Ceccherini, Cabal, Hien; Terracciano, Tameze, Sulemana, Depaoli; Ngonge, Lazovic; Djuric
Empoli possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Ebuehi, Ismajli, Luperto, Cacace; Haas, Grassi; Akpa Akpro, Fazzini, Cambiaghi; Caputo
We say: Hellas Verona 1-1 Empoli
As impressive as Empoli have been on their own patch of late, Zanetti's side are still lacking the formula for success on the road and will hardly be helped by the absence of their skipper Bandinelli.
With neither side displaying rock-solid tendencies at the back, a third successive low-scoring draw could be on the cards, which may or may not see Hellas Verona live to fight another day.
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