The first full round of fixtures following the suspension due to coronavirus in the Italian Serie A commences on Monday the 22nd of June.
On the following day, there is a crucial meeting between Hellas Verona and Napoli at the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi. The hosts come into the game in 7th place on 38 points while the visitors are just one place above them on 39 points. Qualification for the Europa League is what Hellas Verona will be aiming for come the end of the season.
What a day! 🏆✍️ pic.twitter.com/4CL705d5ki— Dries Mertens (@dries_mertens14) June 18, 2020
What a day! 🏆✍️ pic.twitter.com/4CL705d5ki
Hellas Verona have already played one match following the resumption of the league and they defeated Cagliari 2-1 at home. That was a game in hand on some of the other teams around them and Hellas Verona took a two goal lead after 26 minutes and despite conceding a goal just before half time they held on to claim victory.
That result means Hellas Verona have remained undefeated in 10 of their last 11 Serie A games. They have been wins over Genoa, Lecce, Juventus and Cagliari at home plus SPAL away. Their home record in the league is excellent and Hellas Verona have won in each of their last 4 matches at the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi and are undefeated in 7 of their last 8 on home soil in Serie A.
Trends show Hellas Verona have been scoring plenty of goals at home and they have found the back of the net at least twice in each of their last 5 matches. However, they have kept only one clean sheet in their last 6 games at home.
Napoli will come into this game with plenty of confidence following there Coppa Italia success last week. They were held at home by Inter Milan in the second leg of the semi-final but that was enough to see them progress 2-1 on aggregate. The final against Juventus ended 0-0 but Napoli were the better team and deserved to win on penalties.
That result means Napoli are already guaranteed a place in the Europa League next season so their final league position will not be as important in that regard. However, they will want to finish as high as possible and are currently enjoying a run of 7 matches unbeaten in all competitions. Trends show Napoli have won 5 of their last 6 Serie A games including victories at home over Juventus and Torino plus away against Sampdoria, Cagliari and Brescia.
Napoli have scored at least one goal in 8 of their last 9 away league matches but have kept just one clean sheet in those 9 games.
Team news and Hellas Verona will be without Fabio Borini who is suspended following his red card against Cagliari. Valentin Eysseric is the only other player unavailable and he is not expected back until the end of July.
Napoli travel without Stanislav Lobotka who is injured and they have doubts over the inclusion of Kevin Malcuit who is returning from a knee injury.
This is a match which should see both teams finding the back of the net. However, Napoli have the superior quality in their team and will feel confident of taking maximum points, especially following their Coppa Italia win.