Verona vs Salernitana prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-12-29 17:00.
Hellas Verona fans spent the Christmas period breathing a sigh of relief after watching their side escape the Serie A (SA) relegation zone by beating Cagliari 2-0. That victory ended a 14-game winless run in league action (D5, L9), but as the Mastiffs have claimed six of their 14 points in their last five games (W1, D3, L1), there's real hope that Marco Baroni’s men have turned a corner.
Verona now go in search of consecutive SA clean sheets for the first time since September 2020, and they’ll certainly be glad to be at home given that they’re unbeaten in three league matches there (W1, D2). The two stalemates in that sequence saw Baroni’s side rescue points from a losing position, resilience that may be needed if they’re to extend a five-season stay in the top-flight.
The taste of missed opportunities soured Christmas dinners at Salernitana, as they were denied just a second win of the league season by a 90th-minute equaliser from AC Milan. The Garnets start the round five points adrift of safety and rooted to the bottom of the table, with supporters understandably fearing the worst ahead of the second half of the season.
The last time a team avoided relegation from SA after winning one or fewer of their first 17 games was back in 1978/79, laying bare the size of the task in front of boss Filippo Inzaghi. That’s a stat that may compound some recent travel sickness that’s seen Salernitana take just one point from their last seven away league games, with five of their six defeats coming ‘to nil’, while they’ve also failed to score in four of the last five H2Hs at Verona (W1, L4)!
Players to watch: Cyril Ngonge has seen two of his three SA home goals this season come in wins, as was also the case in a 1-0 victory when these sides last met. Antonio Candreva will be looking to spearhead the response and break Salernitana’s goal drought having directly contributed to nine goals in 14 SA H2Hs (G4, A5).
Hot stat: No SA side has conceded more goals than Salernitana (ten) beyond the 80th-minute after 17 rounds.