Verona vs Cremonese prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-01-08 17:30.
It’s hard to find a silver lining for Serie A’s (SA) basement dwellers Hellas Verona at the moment, but their 1-1 draw against Torino on their return to league action did at least end a ten match losing SA run. That result does, however, leave Verona’s winless league run at 11 games and there appears little chance of that ending at home, where Salvatore Bocchetti’s side have lost nine of their last ten SA matches (W1).
It’s clear to see where Verona’s problems lie this season, and that’s in conceding goals. They are the only SA side without a clean sheet this term and have conceded exactly twice in seven of their last 11 league outings, though a three-match unbeaten run in SA home H2Hs against Cremonese (W1, D2) does offer a glimmer of hope in a contest that will pay tribute to ex-Cremonese player and Italian football legend Gianluca Vialli, who sadly passed away this week.
Strangely, despite being the only SA side yet to win a league game this season (D7,L9) Cremonese actually come into this relegation six-pointer two points better off than their hosts. There’s a little bit of unwanted history creeping ever closer for Cremonese in that sense too, as they are now only three games away from becoming the first team since Verona in 2015/16 to be winless at the halfway mark of a SA season.
Needless to say Verona were ultimately relegated that season, a fate Cremonese will be desperate to avoid in their first season back in SA since 1995/96. A seven-point gap to safety means Grigiorossi need immediate improvements to turn it around, though a narrow 1-0 defeat against Juventus in their return to action did at least show they could go toe-to-toe with one of the league’s big hitters.
Players to watch: Milan Đurić was Verona’s scorer in midweek, netting a sixth goal from his last seven with his head. Similarly proficient in the air, David Okereke has headed home five of his last seven strikes and is Cremonese’s top SA away scorer this season with three goals.
Hot stat: Verona and Cremonese have conceded a joint-league high of four SA goals each in second-half stoppage time.