Riding high after a stellar 4-1 victory over Lazio at the weekend, Hellas Verona will travel West to face Udinese on Wednesday targeting their maiden back-to-back wins of the season.
Three points could take Verona to within touching distance of the European spots, whilst Udinese will be hoping to distance themselves from the relegation battle taking place below them.
Match preview
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A surprise victory over Lazio came at a welcome time for Verona, who had won only one of their previous four matches.
Three consecutive defeats at the start of the season had left the side from Northern Italy scratching around at the foot of the table, yet a slight upturn in form now sees them comfortable in mid-table.
Sitting in 11th with a satisfying 11 points to match, a fourth consecutive season in Serie A looks likely for Verona, who have been a yo-yo side of late.
Currently enjoying their longest stay in the division since 2016, should they avoid relegation at the end of the 2021-22 campaign would eclipse their most prolonged stint in Serie A this century.
Unlike their opponents, Udinese have had a much more stable relationship with Serie A in recent years and are now well into their 27th consecutive season in the top flight.
Well and truly part of the furniture in Italy's first tier, the Bianconeri will be wary of getting dragged into a relegation battle and should be keen to drag themselves away from their current lowly position.
Just four points clear of the drop zone, anything but an end to their six-game winless run could see their lengthy Serie A stay come under threat.
Three consecutive defeats at the end of September have been followed up by a trio of draws, with Luca Gotti's side looking to buck their bad form on Wednesday evening.
They do boast the upper hand on Verona, only just, having won four of the past seven meetings between the two, compared to the one win for Hellas.
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Team News
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It has not exactly gone to plan for Gerard Deulofeu since arriving from Watford on loan in January, with the Udinese forward having netted twice in the current campaign.
The former Barcelona man will be missing for a number of weeks, after picking up a sprain in their recent 1-1 draw with Atlalanta.
Other than that, Gotti will have a full squad to choose from and could turn once again to top scorer Beto, who may add to his three goals against Verona.
In contrast to Udinese, goals have not been a problem for Verona this season, with only two teams in the division having scored more than Hellas.
Over a third of Verona's goals have come courtesy of Giovanni Simeone, and the 26-year-old will be keen to add to his return of six Serie A strikes in Udine.
It is unlikely Verona will be able to call upon the services of Gianluca Frabotta, who has missed the entire season with a calf problem, yet the 22-year-old is expected to return soon.
Udinese possible starting lineup:
Silvestri; Larsen, Becao, Nuytinck, Samir, Udogie; Molina, Makengo, Walace, Pussetto; Beto
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Dawidowicz, Gunter, Casale; Ilic, Veloso, Faraoni, Lazovic; Barak, Caprari, Simeone
We say: Udinese 0-1 Hellas Verona
Two teams likely to end up mid-table come the end of the season, if either have any aspirations of pushing higher up the league, these are the sort of matches they will need to win.
Udinese may have the stronger head-to-head record, yet it is Verona who are enjoying a more fruitful run of form, meaning they are most likely to edge this encounter.
Top tip
Amos Murphy
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Hellas Verona win with a probability of 36.64%. A win for Udinese had a probability of 36.42% and a draw had a probability of 26.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Hellas Verona win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.22%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.05%) and 0-2 (6.42%). The likeliest Udinese win was 1-0 (10.18%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.8%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.8% likelihood.
