Cagliari and Hellas Verona are locked on 26 points ahead of their crucial clash at the Unipol Domus on Monday afternoon.
With nine matches remaining this season, the relegation strugglers find themselves just two points outside the drop zone.
This preview contains all the information you need, including stats, trends, analysis and a mathematics-based prediction from Forebet’s AI algorithm.
Sosta di campionato 🟰 si continua a lavorare 💪🟡🔵#HVFC #DaiVerona #Training pic.twitter.com/PjTSvwGyWe— Hellas Verona FC (@HellasVeronaFC) March 21, 2024
Sosta di campionato 🟰 si continua a lavorare 💪🟡🔵#HVFC #DaiVerona #Training pic.twitter.com/PjTSvwGyWe
Let’s start by looking at the hosts, Cagliari, who suffered a 1-0 defeat to Monza before the international break, failing to register a single attempt on target.
The Islanders enjoyed a four-game unbeaten streak before that loss, with back-to-back 1-1 draws preceding victories over Empoli and Salernitana.
However, the defeat to Monza means that Cagliari have lost five of their previous nine Serie A matches, and 15 of their 29 league games this season.
Although the Islanders have lost just two of their last 10 home league games, they will likely struggle to dominate what should be a tense and cagey affair on Monday.
Hellas Verona also tasted defeat before the international break, suffering a 3-1 loss against AC Milan, despite racking up 15 shots on home soil.
That loss followed back-to-back 1-0 victories over Sassuolo and Lecce, which gave Verona breathing space prior to the Milan defeat.
There is no hiding the fact that Verona have struggled on the road of late, recording one win, three draws and 10 defeats in their last 14 away league outings.
It is also worth noting that Verona have managed to score just 10 goals in 15 away league games this season, failing to score in seven of those clashes.
Head-to-head: Hellas Verona have avoided defeat in each of their last six Serie A meetings with Cagliari, securing four wins and two draws in that sequence.
Given that each of those encounters produced under 3.5 goals, Monday’s clash will likely be a low-scoring affair.
Team news: Cagliari look set to be without injured quartet Andrea Petagna, Leandro Pavoletti, Marco Mancosu and Marko Rog for the foreseeable future.
As for Hellas Veron, midfielder Tomas Suslov remains sidelined due to injury, while there are question marks over the fitness of forward Juan Manuel Cruz.
With both sides fighting to avoid relegation to Serie B, Monday’s showdown looks destined to be a close-fought battle between two desperate teams.
Forebet predicts that Cagliari and Hellas Verona will play out a low-scoring draw, with both teams netting under 1.5 goals.